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Floaters and Flashes
Small spots that float and move in your
field of vision as you look at a blank wall or a clear blue
sky are known as floaters. Most people have some floaters
normally but do not notice them until they become numerous
or more prominent with aging.
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As part of the natural aging process, floaters
look like cobwebs, squiggly lines or floating bugs, and
appear to be in front of the eye, but are actually floating
inside of it. As we age, the vitreous (the clear gel-like
substance that fills the inside of the eye) tends to shrink,
liquify, and detach from the retina, forming clumps within
the eye. What you see are the shadows these clumps cast
on the retina, the light-sensitive nerve layer lining the
back of the eye.
Floaters can intermittently obscure clear
vision, often when reading. Try looking up and then down
to move the floaters out of the way. While some floaters
may remain, many of them will fade over time.
The appearance of flashing lights comes
from traction of the vitreous gel on the retina during the
period of vitreous liquefaction discussed above. Flashes
look like twinkles or lightning streaks. You may have experienced
the same sensation if you have ever been hit in the eye
and seen stars, or rubbed your eye. The flash represents
mechanical stimulation of the retina. Sometimes as the vitreous
shrinks it exerts enough force on the retina to tear it.
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A torn retina is a serious condition. Retinal
tears increase the chance of developing a retinal detachment.
A retinal detachment occurs when fluid vitreous passes through
the tear and lifts the retina off the back of the eye like
wallpaper peeling off a wall. Laser surgery or cryotherapy
(freezing) is often used to seal retinal tears and prevent
retinal detachment.
A retinal detachment is a very serious
problem that risks blindness unless treated. There are three
ways to repair retinal detachments. Pneumatic retinopexy
involves injecting a specialized form of gas into the eye
that pushes the retina and seals the tear. The scleral buckle
procedure consists of draining the fluid from under the
retina and then sewing a flexible piece of silicone to the
outer eye wall to give support to the tear while it heals.
Lastly, vitrectomy surgery removes the vitreous gel from
the eye, replacing it with a specialized gas bubble that
closes the tear and is slowly replaced by the eye's natural
fluids.
Floaters and flashes are warning signs
of possible retinal abnormalities. The appearance of flashing
lights, floating objects, or a gray curtain moving across
the field of vision are all symptoms of a retinal tear or
detachment. If any of these occur, see an ophthalmologist
immediately.
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