“Why do I have eye floaters?”

Our eye is filled with a gel-like structure called the vitreous. As we age, the vitreous starts to thicken forming clumps or strands. These strands are what you see as floaters. If you experience a sudden increase in the amount of floaters or constant flashes, you should go to your nearest ophthalmologist to rule out retinal tears or detachment.

Most floaters come from changes in the consistency of the vitreous gel that fills the back cavity of the eye. They increase with age. 29 is on the younger side to have a lot of floaters, but they do occur earlier in those who are nearsighted. If you have a lot of floaters or sudden increase in floaters you should get an eye exam to make sure the floaters of not something other than the usual, for example some floaters can be inflammatory white blood cells or blood itself

Floaters are fairly normal and common if you have one or two on occasion. The reason is that inside the eye, we have a gel-like fluid that maintains shape and structure of the eye. It is about 99% water and 1% other fibers. As you get older, the gel starts to shrink; as it shrinks, a piece of the fibers can fall off, causing you to see a shadow of the fiber floating around. Near-sighted people are also more likely to have floaters as well because they have a longer eye length in general. Since the eye is more stretched out, it can cause floaters too. If you have a lot of floaters or NEW floaters, floaters with bright, flashing lights in your vision, or a black haze/curtain in your vision, then this could indicate a hole tear or detachment, and you should see an eye doctor and have a comprehensive eye exam as soon as possible.

In an otherwise healthy 29 year old person, floaters are perfectly normal. We all have little fibers of collagen that are suspended in the gel of the eye (called vitreous). You see the shadows of those fibers.

Best Regards,

David J. Pinhas, M.D.