Floaters before the eyes are floating spots of various shapes and sizes (dashes, lines, nets, cobwebs), which are clearly visible when looking at light-colored objects or a bright background. They are especially visible against the background of the sky, a white wall or snow.
Such floaters can appear in front of one or both eyes at the same time; occur periodically or be constant companions. Their distinctive feature is their floating nature. The flies seem to float following the movement of the eyes. When looking from object to object, they continuously repeat the same trajectory, only slightly delayed.
In most cases, the appearance of floaters before the eyes is not accompanied by unpleasant symptoms. But sometimes this phenomenon can be associated with a headache, flashes before the eyes or decreased vision.
Causes
The most common cause of floaters before the eyes is pathological changes in the vitreous body. The vitreous humor is the whitish-colorless substance inside the eye. It has a gel-like consistency and is located between the lens of the eye and the retina. In youth, the vitreous body is absolutely transparent, but with age (by the age of 45-50), small opacities appear in it, which appear as flying dots or floaters before the eyes.
Among the factors that provoke the appearance of flying spots before the eyes, experts identify the following:
Destruction of the vitreous body . Physiological aging of the vitreous body together with the body leads to destructive changes in it. In this case, some of the cells become cloudy and gather into clumps, visible to a person when streams of light enter the eye.
Eye injuries . Serious eye injuries may be accompanied by intraocular bleeding, which causes blood to enter the vitreous. It causes a violation of the transparency of the vitreous body. In this case, a person sees black or brown spots in front of his eyes and feels a significant decrease in visual acuity.
Inflammatory processes of the eyes. In some cases, inflammatory processes in the eye media also lead to clouding of the vitreous, which causes floaters to appear before the eyes.
Additionally, eye floaters can be a result of high myopia, changes caused by diabetic retinopathy, tumors inside the eye, and migraines or ocular migraines.
If floaters suddenly appear before your eyes due to a head or eye injury and at the same time pain appears in the eye, it turns red and your vision becomes worse, you should immediately seek emergency medical help.
How are eye floaters treated?
Eye floaters usually do not require treatment if they appear randomly and very rarely. If they annoy you, remove them from your sight. To do this, move your eyes up and down and from right to left. Such movements trigger the flow of intraocular fluid, and the floaters move along with it.
If floaters interfere with vision, you will need surgery to remove the vitreous humor - vitrectomy. The destroyed vitreous is removed and replaced with a saline solution. The operation has side effects: retinal detachment and rupture, cataracts. However, the likelihood of complications is minimal, and the result of the operation will give you good vision without clouding.
Treatment
Treatment for eye floaters may not always be necessary, depending on the cause of the problem. So, if the appearance of floaters is caused by destruction of the vitreous body, and they practically do not interfere with vision, therefore no specific treatment is carried out.
Identification of severe opacities in the vitreous body, which cause a decrease in the quality of vision, may be an indication for vitrectomy. During the intervention, part of the vitreous with opacities is removed and replaced with a clear, sterile liquid.
If the opacities are not large, but, in the patient’s opinion, interfere with normal vision, laser vitreolysis may be recommended. This is a modern, safe method that allows you to get rid of opacities in the vitreous body using a laser. Using directed laser radiation, the surgeon destroys large clots in the vitreous body. They become smaller and cease to be visible.
Diagnostics
During the initial examination by an ophthalmologist, it is necessary to establish under what circumstances symptoms appear (bright lighting, work at close range, at the height of a hypertensive crisis) and when they disappear. It is important to clarify the duration of the process. Basic diagnostic methods:
- Visometry.
Vitreous opacities of small size and peripheral localization do not affect visual acuity. With a pronounced degree of impairment, visual dysfunction can be observed. - Biomicroscopy of the eye.
With asteroid hyalosis, a large number of small yellowish or yellowish-white shiny formations are observed in the projection of the light beam. The effect of reflection is characteristic. However, the technique does not allow assessment of peripheral structures. - Ultrasound of the eye.
In gray scale B-mode, individuals with asteroid hyalosis show multiple small discrete echogenic inclusions with varying acoustic density. In A-mode, repeating high-amplitude complexes are recorded in the projection of the entire anechoic space of the vitreous cavity. - Spectral optical coherence tomography ( SD - OCT )
. OCT makes it possible to clearly visualize vitreal lesions located preretinal. With more anterior localization, they are indirectly detected as darkening of the OCT image. - Scanning laser ophthalmoscopy
. Depending on the density of the opacities, they look like white-gray shadows or penumbra. Using a series of photographs, you can estimate the size and approximate density. A Weiss ring is often detected in the fundus. - Dynamic Light Scattering ( DLS )
. The laser nanodetector system is used to image particles ranging in size from 3 nanometers to 3 microns. An ophthalmologist can evaluate collagen fiber aggregation in myopic or diabetic vitreopathy. - Determination of contrast sensitivity
. In the presence of primary compactions in the vitreous body, contrast sensitivity (CS) decreases. This increases the degree of light scattering. Studies are carried out before and after surgery. Asteroid hyalosis does not affect CP indicators.
Ophthalmological examination
Prevention
There are no specific methods for preventing the appearance of floaters before the eyes. However, the following tips can help avoid their early occurrence and delay the aging of the vitreous body for a long time. So it follows:
- Undergo regular examinations with an ophthalmologist, especially for people over 40 years of age.
- Lead a healthy, active lifestyle.
- Take eye vitamins.
- Avoid eye and head injuries.
True, if trouble has already happened and floaters in front of your eyes have become a constant companion to your vision, you should not:
- Try to get rid of them with improvised means and self-medicate.
- Remain in a bent position for a long time with your head tilted down.
- Lift weights.
It must be remembered that the appearance of floaters in front of the eyes is absolutely safe only when the vitreous body is destroyed due to age-related changes. All other cases require mandatory medical care from an ophthalmologist or other medical specialists. To exclude diseases and conditions that are dangerous to humans, if floaters appear before your eyes, it is better to immediately consult an ophthalmologist.
Patients of our clinic have the opportunity to undergo a full diagnostic examination and receive advice from experienced specialists without tiring queues, at a time convenient for them. If necessary, the clinic will provide emergency care or prescribe adequate treatment in accordance with international standards for the provision of medical services.
1.General information
There are symptoms so universal, informative and, at the same time, difficult to describe verbally that the doctor and the patient sometimes have to make great efforts to correctly understand each other. In neuropsychiatric practice, such situations probably arise more often than in other medical fields. Indeed, widespread complaints that a patient has a “headache”, “feels bad” or “insomnia” may seem exhaustive and explain everything, although in fact such formulations acquire diagnostic significance only after numerous clarifications.
A huge number of nuances and options are implied, in particular, by the concept of “floaters before the eyes” (“floating circles”, “transparent spots”, “black dots”, etc.). Separated from other existing symptoms, these visual sensations in themselves do not even indicate which doctor should be consulted: an ophthalmologist, a neurologist, an endocrinologist, or perhaps several specialists at the same time. Only in the context of other, more specific health disorders, the situation gradually becomes clearer. It should be emphasized that such an ephemeral, obviously illusory and difficult to describe phenomenon, like foreign objects in the field of vision, most often serves as an alarm bell about latently growing problems, sometimes very serious ones.
A must read! Help with treatment and hospitalization!
Useful video
The appearance of flickering does not always indicate the presence of pathological conditions of the visual apparatus. The symptom signals the presence of problems in the blood circulation of the brain or changes in hormonal levels. It is necessary to contact medical personnel if the size and number of spots before the eyes increase in order to determine the root cause and eliminate the pathology.
Author's rating
Author of the article
Alexandrova O.M.
Articles written
2100
about the author
Was the article helpful?
Rate the material on a five-point scale!
( 1 ratings, average: 3.00 out of 5)
If you have any questions or want to share your opinion or experience, write a comment below.
The reason for the appearance of floaters and flickering before the eyes is a normal reaction to stress.
When a person is in a state of anxiety, his body prepares for “fight and flight.” And it activates the functions necessary for such behavior, suppressing those that are useless in “combat” conditions.
In the modern world, a person with neurotic fears usually clearly understands that he is not in any real danger. And often she doesn’t feel like she’s worried. But he doesn't feel it consciously. His brain found a threat for itself. Scared of her. And now he is preparing to defend himself.
Normal preparation of the visual organs for encountering real danger includes:
- dilation of the pupils to increase the amount of visual information about an impending threat;
- narrowing of peripheral vision (you need to look in front of the glitch, and not yawn to the sides);
- reducing the frequency of blinking movements so as not to miss danger while the eye is closed;
- increased blood flow in the area of the eye muscles.
Subjectively, the changes that occur can be felt as:
- obtaining a brighter, sometimes literally “overexposed” picture before your eyes;
- "tunnel vision";
- pain and tension in the eyes;
- flickering of flies, spots, flashes of light, etc.
Overstimulation causes flickering and other symptoms of vision changes
If a person is constantly under stress, for example, suffers from generalized anxiety disorder, his body enters a hyperstimulation mode. And the fight-and-flight preparation reactions do not disappear after the danger has passed. Because the “danger” itself does not go away.
Against the background of constant anxiety, the following may occur:
- chronic overstrain of the eye muscles;
- pain and lacrimation;
- tension in the eyes;
- hypersensitivity to light;
- persistent “tunnel vision”;
- blurred viewing area.
Constant hyperstimulation of neurons involved in receiving and processing visual information leads to their work becoming unbalanced. And this distorts the visual picture of the world. Front sights and heels appear before your eyes, objects change their shape. Everything looks somehow different from usual.
