What are Floaters?

The most commonly asked question I get during routine eye exams are, “What are these black dots in my vision?”. They are perfectly normal to have and are called floaters. The eye is filled with a gel like material called the vitreous. As we age the gel becomes more liquefied and you will start to see the gel particles in your vision.

For the most part they are just annoying and usually cause no problem. You should schedule an eye exam if there is a new onset of several floaters in your vision, if they are accompanied with bright flashing lights, or if you have any vision loss. These symptoms may be a sign of a retinal detachment which is something that needs to be treated promptly to avoid any vision loss.