Posterior uveitis (chronic eye inflammation brought about by infectious disease or an autoimmune disorder) can also be sight-threatening. So, if your floaters appeared suddenly and are accompanied by light flashes or loss of peripheral vision, it may be prudent to visit an eyecare specialist immediately. If left untreated for several days, permanent vision loss or blindness will result. In addition, in about 25 per cent of cases, floaters indicate a sight-threatening condition such as tears or detachment of the retina, which is when any part of the retina gets pulled away from the back wall of the eye. However, floaters as well as PVD occur more often – and earlier – in shortsighted people like yourself, in diabetics and in those who have undergone cataract surgery, or laser surgery for the eye or skin, and as a result of trauma (Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol, 2005 26 July: 1-5 Am Fam Physician, 2004 69: 1691-8 Dermatol Surg, 2002 28: 1088-91). By age 70, PVD has usually already taken place gradually. However, if there is a sudden appearance of multiple floaters, this may be a sign of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), the separation of vitreous fluid away from the retina.
If their onset is gradual, they are very likely harmless and require no treatment. Over the years, the vitreous fluid inevitably thickens, dries and shrinks, which is why floaters are more commonly seen in people over 40. This gel-like fluid maintains the eye’s shape, aids the transmission of light to the retina, absorbs shock and holds the retina in place. Strictly speaking, what we are seeing are the shadows of these irregularities in the vitreous fluid that separates the lens and retina. They can appear as specks, strands, webs or other shapes, and may momentarily be confused with dust or tiny insects flying across the eye. A: Floaters are little clumps of gel or cells floating through the thick transparent gel of the eyeball.
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