Seeing spots can be a sign of floaters.
What are floaters?
There may be times when you’re looking at the sky or a blank wall and notice little shapes floating in front of you. They’re not quite clear — almost like little bits of dust stuck on a camera lens. You try to blink them away, but they’re still there. When you look somewhere else, these shapes move with you. These are called floaters. Floaters are solidified parts of a gel-like fluid in your eye called the vitreous humor. Floaters appear in your field of vision as spots or small shapes.
Floaters are very common and typically do not require treatment.
Different types of floaters.
Floaters are small pieces of debris that float in the eye’s vitreous humor. This debris casts shadows on the retina (the light-sensitive tissue layer at the back of the eye) and appear as shadows that float across your field of vision. There are 3 main types of floaters.
Cobweb/Fibrous Strand Floater
Most common in young people, this thin, dense floater can appear as multiple dots and/or string-like cobwebs. These are a result of clumping of the collagen fibers of the vitreous. Depending on the size and location, these may be treatable with laser floater removal.
Diffuse, Cloud-Like Floater
This cloud-like floater is caused by the natural aging process. Sometimes this floater can be treated with laser floater removal, but it often requires more overall treatment to obtain satisfactory results.
Weiss Ring Floater
A Weiss Ring floater is a large, ring-shaped floater that forms as a result of PVD when the vitreous cortex pulls off the posterior wall, taking with it some of the fibrous vitreous cortex that surrounds the head of the optic nerve. This floater is usually located safely away from the crystallin lens and the retina and is fibrous. Because of this, it can be treated safely and effectively with laser floater removal.
If you suffer from moving shadows in your vision due to vitreal condensations, fibers, strands, and/or clouds, laser floater treatment may be an option for you.
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Restoring clear, spot free vision.
When the quality of your vision begins to put limitations on your daily activities and overall enjoyment in life, it may be time to treat floaters. Also known as laser vitreolysis, Laser Floater Treatment is a minimally invasive, in-office procedure that can provide you with improvements in your vision in just 20-60 minutes per treatment session. Some floaters may require multiple sessions.
Floaters FAQs
It is very common for patients who have undergone one floater treatment to need additional treatments. Please consult with your ophthalmologist on the number of procedures required.
Yes, this is an in-office procedure that does not require anesthesia.
Eye floater treatments typically lasts 2-60 minutes (per eye).
Yes, eye floaters are normal and a common part of the aging process. There are some rare instances in which floaters are a sign of a serious condition such as retinal detachment. Regular eye exams by your optometrist can rule out any underlying ocular issues.
Floater treatments do not hurt; however, some patients report minor scratching and foreign body sensations.
Each person has their own unique description of what floaters look like. The most common descriptions include spider-like shapes, medusas, clouds, squiggly lines, black or dark spots, thread-like strands or shadowy shapes.
Floaters may become less noticeable over time, but they are permanent and stay in the eye.
