Flashes and Floaters: Things to know

Most people have noticed floaters in their vision as they age, and most of the time they are benign, and cause no issues other than mild visual annoyance! However, there are some warning signs to monitor for when noticing new floaters, or sharp flashes of light in your visual field.

What are floaters?

Most people describe floaters as small dots, or cobwebs in their visual field, which usually move around as your eyes do. A good analogy is to think of a snow globe: with the globe as your eyeball, and the fluid inside as the jelly (vitreous) your eye. With time, this jelly slowly breaks apart and liquifies with age, therefore bits of the jelly break off into the liquid and give rise to floaters! What you see are the shadows cast on your retina.

What are Flashes?

Flashes appear as sharp, abrupt bright lights in your visual field. Some people describe it as similar to seeing a flash of lightning. Flashes can be innocuous as they are related to traction between the jelly and the retina.

When are they an issue?

Both flashes and floaters can be benign, however as a rule of thumb, if you ever notice new onset flashes or floaters you must book an appointment with your Optometrist immediately. In rare occasions, the jelly can tear a section of your retina, which if left untreated can lead to a potentially blinding condition called a Retinal Detachment. The prime symptoms of this is new onset flashes and floaters in your field of vision that appear suddenly.

Therefore, with flashes and floaters it’s better to be safe than sorry, as the only way you can know for sure if you have a problematic cause of your floaters is to get them checked by an Optometrist!