Eye Floaters

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Medical Author:

John D. Sheppard, MD, MMSc

Coauthor:

David M. Salib, MD

Medical Editor:

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist. Dr. Dahl's educational background includes a BA with Honors and Distinction from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, and an MD from Cornell University, where he was selected for Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. He had an internal medical internship at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.

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• Eye Floaters Overview
• Eye Floaters: Benign Causes
• Eye Floaters: Pathologic Causes
• Eye Floaters Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Questions to Ask the Doctor
• Exams and Tests
• Eye Floaters Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medical Treatment
• Medications
• Surgery
• Follow-up
• Prevention
• Prognosis
• Support Groups and Counseling
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors

Eye doctors around the world examine thousands of patients every day for a chief complaint of floaters. Patients describe a wide variety of symptoms, usually worsened by bright lighting conditions. The vast majority of patients with eye floaters have a benign condition known as vitreous syneresis in which portions of the normally clear and transparent vitreous jelly inside the eye becomes less transparent. Rarely, eye floaters may be associated with significant ocular disease, including vitreous bleeding or hemorrhage, retinal detachment, severe ocular injury, or diabetic retinopathy. Only a qualified eye doctor can determine whether or not the symptom of eye floaters represents a serious ocular condition.

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