# Eye Floaters...so I see them almost all the time now **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-floaters-so-i-see-them-almost-all-the-time-now/659893 "2013-06-01T22:11:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-floaters-so-i-see-them-almost-all-the-time-now/659893/1 "2013-06-01T22:11:03Z")
Yes, I know, you’re not a Doctor and I should treat the medical advice as being worth what I paid for it. With that out of the way… It seems I have a lot more eye floaters than I did just a few months ago. It used to be that I’d only see them when looking at a flat color, like a wall or the sky, but now I see them when looking at normal things too, like my monitor, or just stepping outside. Should I be concerned? It’s getting to the point where they are annoying and sometimes distracting (in addition to just being concerning). I’m only 28; is this normal? Can it be fixed? I do need to go see an eye doctor soon anyway to renew my prescription–will any eye doctor work or is there a specialist I should see? Anyone have experience with this? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-floaters-so-i-see-them-almost-all-the-time-now/659893/2 "2013-06-01T22:16:17Z")
A moderator will probably want to move this to IMHO. So – IMHO (IANAD) you should see an ophthalmologist. I don’t think this is normal at your young age. According to [WebMD:](http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/benign-eye-floaters) > [@](#): > > But sometimes eye floaters are a sign of a more serious condition. You should seek immediate medical attention if you notice a sudden increase in the number of eye floaters. > > Immediate medical attention is especially important if the floaters are accompanied by flashes of light or a loss of side vision. If you have these symptoms, see an eye doctor right away. Without immediate treatment, you can have permanent vision loss. These symptoms may be caused by: > Retinal detachment > Retinal tear > Bleeding within the eye ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-floaters-so-i-see-them-almost-all-the-time-now/659893/3 "2013-06-01T23:54:55Z")
There are two groups of people who do exams for eye glasses - optometrists and ophthalmologists. Either one is trained and licensed to examine your eyes and tell you if you need to be concerned about your floaters. [Eye Doctors: Optometrist vs Ophthalmologist vs Optician](http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/eye-doctors-optometrists-ophthalmologists) Since you’ve noticed a change, yes, they should be checked out. Chances are they’re just Stuff floating around in your eyeball, and your brain will learn to ignore them. If they continue to bug you, then you can initiate a conversation about maybe Doing Something to fix them, but the only treatments are somewhat nervewracking and do have risks, including the potential for vision loss or blindness. So you can understand why, if they’re annoying but not dangerous, they tend to shy away from treating them. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-floaters-so-i-see-them-almost-all-the-time-now/659893/4 "2013-06-01T23:55:55Z")
FWIW - I have had them all my adult life and both an optometrist and an ophthalmologist are unconcerned. That of course is not generalizable to you, but hopefully will offer some interim reassurance until you can get seen. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-floaters-so-i-see-them-almost-all-the-time-now/659893/5 "2013-06-02T00:06:44Z")
> [@D18](#): > > FWIW - I have had them all my adult life and both an optometrist and an ophthalmologist are unconcerned. That of course is not generalizable to you, but hopefully will offer some interim reassurance until you can get seen. It certainly does, which is what I needed. So hopefully that turns out to be the case! Thanks everyone for the replies so far. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-floaters-so-i-see-them-almost-all-the-time-now/659893/6 "2013-06-02T00:50:23Z")
IMNAD! (as you know 🙂 ) BUT if you start to see an encroaching shadow from the periphery of your vision and/or flashing lights, get to a doctor or emergency eye clinic asap…sudden increase in floaters + these additional symptoms are indicators of possible retinal detachment. (just happened to me - got surgery in time to save a lot of my vision). Re the floaters…in my case the floaters ramped up MASSIVELY overnight, so doesn’t sound like what you have, but I had to chip in just in case. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-floaters-so-i-see-them-almost-all-the-time-now/659893/7 "2013-06-02T05:09:41Z")
I’m not a doctor, but having gone through a couple of retina re-attachment surgeries, I would strongly encourage seeing a specialist. An increase in floaters can indeed be a warning sign of a retina detachment, especially if accompanied by flashes of light. It ain’t necessarily so, but not seeing a specialist is not worth the risk. Trust me on that. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-floaters-so-i-see-them-almost-all-the-time-now/659893/8 "2013-06-03T09:58:53Z")
I’ve had significant floaters all my life, and therefore been very careful about having yearly checks. My ophthalmologist isn’t concerned about the current situation, which has been stable for many years now, but I’m under a dire warning to hie me to a doctor (or emergency room, even) if there’s a sudden increase in the number or density of floaters, or any increase in the number of flashing lights that I very occasionally see. I take this advice very seriously, having a grandfather who suffered from retinal detachment and was left essentially blind after that. I would urge you to do the same.