When Are Floaters a Medical Problem?

As you age, your eye undergoes changes, and your vision does too. Some of these changes are expected, like slow deterioration of the ability to read text without reading glasses, or eyes that get tired easily. 

However, if you have black spots or floaters in your vision, you need to get checked out.

At Ventura Eye Institute in Camarillo, California, our professional team of eye care specialists can treat floaters in the eye and alert you to a more serious medical condition that may also need treatment. 

Causes of floaters

In many cases, floaters are caused by aging and are mostly harmless. Floaters can look like tiny black spots, squiggles (similar to a cobweb strand), or fuzzy spots that drift around in your vision.

One common cause is that the vitreous (the jelly-like substance inside your eyeball that keeps it mostly round and inflated) starts to deteriorate and liquefy. Then parts of it clump together and create tiny strands. These strands can make squiggly lines or spots in your vision.

You might also have inflammation in the back of the eye, causing debris to enter the vitreous and creating the same effect. Alternately, you could be taking eye medication or might have had a recent eye procedure that causes interference with vision. 

The real worrisome symptom is if you also have bright flashes of light or loss of peripheral vision. This indicates that you might have bleeding into your eye from tiny blood vessels, or that your retina is starting to detach. 

The most common cause of these last symptoms is diabetes, which puts strain on tiny blood vessels and can cause a condition known as diabetic retinopathy. 

This condition is serious, as the floaters could deteriorate into permanent vision loss. You could end up with patches of fuzziness or black spots that don’t go away, tunnel vision, or even loss of vision entirely. 

This is why it’s so important to see an eye specialist as soon as possible if you start having floaters in your vision, and also to be screened for diabetes. 

Treatment for floaters

If your floaters are caused by aging, our team can help. We provide laser treatment to help remedy changes to your eyeball that cause floaters, and correct imperfections to restore your vision. The procedure is minimally invasive, and recovery is typically swift and uneventful.

If the floaters appear to have another underlying cause, we can guide you in getting the treatment you need.

If you’re experiencing floaters, schedule a consultation with the team at Ventura Eye Institute. You can schedule an appointment by calling 805-388-1211, or book online.