The human body is not perfect. It has many flaws and problems even when functioning normally. This is why some people have odd or inconsistent sensations that are just part of everyday life.

One of most common things that people deal with each day is a floater in the eye. These are small blobs, lines or other shapes that appear in your field of vision. You can usually see right through them. The shapes can move along with your eye so that it is impossible to focus on them. Eye floaters are actually a harmless natural phenomenon most people will experience. Your eyes are actually filled with a gel-like substance. This is where eye floaters are located.

The floaters are just very tiny parts of your body that have managed to make it into the gel. They could be pieces of disconnected tissue, blobs of proteins or even red blood cells. They move because the gel in your eyes shifts as you change your gaze.

This is why you cannot ever look directly at the floaters. You see the floaters because they are really casting a shadow against the retinas in the back of your eyes. The vast majority of eye floaters are a completely harmless annoyance that everyone has to deal with at some point. There is no real way to prevent them or predict when they will show up. If a floater becomes very large and actually starts to obstruct your vision, however, then that could indicate a serious problem that requires immediate medical attention.

“Floaters are little bits of particles in the interior of your eye that appear when you take a look at something white or extremely intense,” states Rishi Singh, MD, personnel cosmetic surgeon at Cleveland Center’s Cole Eye Institute in Ohio. “The majority of the time, floaters are not the indication of anything unsafe. Floaters triggered by loose cells, for instance, are generally not that annoying and frequently disappear by themselves in a couple of weeks or months.”

Floaters tend to end up being more typical with age. According to the NEI, individuals who are extremely nearsighted, have diabetes, or who have actually had a cataract operation are at higher threat of establishing them. If floaters unexpectedly end up being so thick that they interrupt your vision, or if they are accompanied by other signs, you need to seek advice from a medical professional.

” Unless the eye is thoroughly analyzed by a professional, there is no chance of understanding what the reason for the floaters is. That’s why it is essential for anybody who begins seeing floaters to arrange a consultation with their optometrist,” Dr. Singh states. “If they’re all of a sudden beginning or accompanied by flashes, make a consultation as quickly as possible.”

Floaters accompanied by flashes of light or loss of peripheral vision might be an indication of retinal detachment, a major condition that requires instant attention.

“Often the vitreous body fibers can pull a few of the retinal afferent neuron with them, triggering a retinal tear that can cause a retinal detachment,” Singh states. “This can trigger considerable damage to vision.” Other possible reasons for floaters consist of blood leaks from small vessels in the retina, infections or swellings of the eye, and, in unusual circumstances, growths.