To explain what these eye floaters are, I’m going to break this down into 3 sections. First we will have a look at what floaters look like, secondly we’ll have a look at where in the eye floaters appear, then finally we will look at why you get them in the first place.
1 What floaters look like
- Floaters vary in size and shape. It’s not unusual for two people with floaters to describe different floaters. For the most part they are small specs or strands like hair or fluff. They also move as you move your eyes and return back to their original position when your eye stops.
2 Where do they appear in the eye
- The eye has a large internal space filled with a fluid that we call vitreous humour.
- This is why they are called vitreous floaters.
- The reason we have this fluid her in the first place is for protection… 1. To protect the retina from peeling off and 2. I can serve to absorb impact from external forces.
3 Why you get vitreous floaters
- The vitreous fluid is normally nice and solid with minimal movement of the fluid in younger eye
- It is 99% water, 1% combination of collagen, vitreous cells, and other supporting molecules (Hyaluronic acid and proteoglycans). So it’s transparent!
- The fluid is arranged and spaced to keep collagen fibres away from each other to help transparency.
- Floaters can form when the supporting molecules degenerate with age causing collagen fibres to clump together and become visible as obstructions that float about within a defined space in the fluid when they cast shadows onto the retina.
Causes of floaters:
- Age is most common because with age the fluid goes from being a nice firm solid gel to a more liquefied gel increasing the likelihood of floaters with a greater chance of getting them after the age of 60 years.
- Being highly nearsighted (myopic) and perhaps above -6.00D power prescription may carry more risk.
- Also if you are young; avoid heavy trauma to the head and eyes (e.g. Excessive punches to the head or heading a soccer ball). Head trauma may lead to premature floaters as it may destabilise the vitreous gel and cause it to liquefy prematurely.
There are other types of floaters other than the standard vitreous floaters described here, and I cover them in my post on the 5 Common types of eye floaters.
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