Understanding Flashers and Floaters

You’re looking up at a clear, blue sky on a calm day, and rather than a smooth field of blue, you note tiny shadows moving around the sky, and when you try to focus on these, they move in response to your eyes. These are floaters, and you may have noticed them occurring throughout most of your life.

Commonly referred to as “seeing stars,” one form of flasher does call to mind the cartoon animations of a character who’s received a head blow. Typically, these flashers spin for a few seconds and disappear. 

Both floaters and flashers are usually normal and not a cause for concern. However, in some instances, they can indicate a vision issue, and in rare cases, they could indicate a condition that requires urgent treatment. 

Board-certified ophthalmologist Clayton Stevens, MD, of Stevens Eye Care in Biloxi, Mississippi, has extensive experience in evaluating and treating flashes and floaters. 

Read on as he breaks down these visual phenomena in detail, including normal and abnormal instances.

Eye floaters

Appearing as specks of dust, dots, or cobwebs moving gently through your field of vision, these floaters aren’t in front of or on the surface of your eyes, but rather suspended in the fluid that fills your eyes, called vitreous.

Comprised of cells and clumps of gel, what you see as floaters are actually shadows cast by the irregularities onto your retina. Like ordinary shadows, edges are indistinct, so you can never really focus on them.

Floaters are usually more obvious when you’re looking at a smooth, unadorned surface, such as an empty wall or that clear, blue sky. Your vitreous thickens with age. This, along with a few other conditions, naturally contributes to the presence of floaters.

Sometimes the vitreous pulls away from the back surface of your eye, causing more floaters, but this is usually temporary, and those floaters will subside. In rare, extreme cases, floaters can be substantial enough to require treatment to relieve their effects.

When eye floaters may be a problem

If you’ve seen floaters most of your life, there’s not likely an issue, particularly if eye exams confirm healthy vision. However, if you have sudden-onset floaters, new shadows that appear suddenly or in large numbers, see an ophthalmologist as soon as possible to rule out any serious issue. 

This is doubly important if flashers accompany your floaters.

Eye flashers

Flashes of light, appearing as shooting stars or lightning-like streaks, can occur spontaneously or accompany a head impact. It’s more common as you age, when the thickening vitreous pulls on or rubs against the retina. Flashes indicate retinal irritation, so they can sometimes indicate a more serious issue.

Other flashes, more like heat waves or jagged lines, may occur as part of a migraine. It’s possible to have these visual disturbances without headache pain, a condition called an ophthalmic headache.

When eye flashers may be a problem

Because flashers are a symptom of retina irritation, they require a thorough exam to rule out a serious cause of the irritation. Your retina can’t feel pain in a normal way, since it has photoreceptors rather than nerves. 

While flashers can result from vitreous detachment, like floaters, more serious conditions that cause flashers include retinal detachment, hemorrhages of the eye, or, in rare cases, tumors.

Both flashers and floaters are common, but it’s important to rule out more serious conditions that could lead to serious vision problems. Schedule your visit now by calling our office or booking online.