“Often described as flies in front of the eye”
Floaters are symptoms experienced by many people. They are dark specks in the form of dots, circles, lines or cobwebs that seem to move across your field of vision. They are most noticeable when you are looking at a light-coloured background, such as a clear sky or a white wall.

Floaters come in many sizes and numbers, and they seem to move when you look in different directions. Also Flashes are experienced as a lighting streak, originating within the eye, in the field of vision. Flashes are most often noticed at night or in a dark room. Floaters are perceived as freely mobile single or multiple black spots in the line of vision. Majority of times these flashes and floaters are harmless. However, these may also point towards more serious conditions of retina like retinal breaks, retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage etc., which if not treated promptly, may lead to severe loss of vision. Hence it is important not to ignore these symptoms and get a detailed retinal checkup to prevent serious complications.

Floaters are small clumps of visible material within the vitreous (Gel-like substance that gives the eye it's shape).

Although floaters seem to be in front of you, they are actually floating within the vitreous and the retina sees them as shadows. Sometimes floaters occur because your eye is irritated, or because there are crystal-like deposits in the vitreous. As we get older, the vitreous shrinks and separates from the retina. As this separation occurs, floaters may appear.

In about half of all people, the vitreous has separated from the retina by age 50, although many people are not aware that this process has occurred in their eye(s). At first, floaters can be annoying, but your brain slowly learns to ignore them. After several months you may hardly notice them. Most of the time, the vitreous separates from the retina without any problem. However, in some people, the vitreous remains attached to parts of the retina, causing the retina to tear as the vitreous separates from it. There may be some bleeding into the vitreous associated with a retinal tear, which results in a new "shower" of floaters. Tears in the retina should be repaired right away.

A retinal tear can develop into a retinal detachment, which is a serious threat to vision. Retinal tears can usually be repaired without a hospital stay, but it may take a major operation to fix a retinal detachment.

Certain people, such as those who are nearsighted and those who ave had a cataract operation or an eye injury, have a higher risk of retinal tears and retinal detachment.

Floaters may sometimes interfere with your vision, especially when you are reading. If a floater appears right in your line of vision, move your eye around. This makes the vitreous swirl around and moves the floater out of the way. Looking up and down rather than from side to side causes different currents inside.

If you have symptoms of a PVD (floaters, flashes, shower of spots or gray areas approaching from the side) it is importantto have a prompt and thorough examination of the retina so a search can be made for any retinal break or other pathology. Fortunately the great majority of PVDs do not cause a retinal tear and not all tears will lead to detachment. The eye and may help to get the floater out of the way. Surgery is almost never needed for floaters.

A retinal break or tear can be treated by a simple preventive procedure of Laser or Cryopexy, as an outpatient procedure. These procedures create an adhesion between the retina and the underlying tissue by forming a scar tissue. This scar tissue prevents the seepage of liquid vitreous under the retina and thus prevents retinal detachment. These preventive procedures are virtually harmless and are very effective (95%) in preventing the more serious retinal detachment.

Following a PVD, it is expected that the floaters and flashes slowly diminish over a 3 month period. Once it has been determined there is no underlying retinal tear or detachment, the floaters may be considered irritating but harmless. With time most floaters tend to become less bothersome and often disappear. If new floaters appear in future, they need to be examined again to determine if they are harmless or a symptom of the more serious retinal tear or detachment.

Once the retina detaches, it must be operated upon on an urgent basis to reattach the retina. If operated early, the results are generally quite good with significant gain in vision. A delay in surgery decreases the chances of success and the vision gained is also limited.