Eye floaters. They’re pretty common. In fact, most people experience them at some point in their life. But did you know that eye floaters come in many forms? They can look quite different to different people.
In this article, we’ll focus our discussion on the various types of floaters. For additional information on eye floaters, you can hop on over to one of these related posts:
Types of Eye Floaters and What They Mean
One of the ways that eye floaters can look different from person to person is by the shape they take. The “types” of floaters listed below are just named for their shape—the shapes don’t really mean anything.
Floaters occur when the vitreous (the jelly-like substance inside our eyes) pulls away from the inner surface of the eye. (That may sound a little weird, but it naturally happens as we age.) When this happens, protein fibers “floating” about in the vitreous cast shadows on your retina—that’s what you see as floaters. So, the shape of the floater simply boils down to the formation of those floating protein fibers and how they clump together.
Diffuse Floaters
These floaters are sometimes referred to as “cloud-like floaters.” As you may suspect, they’re so named because they tend to look like clouds—typically rounded in shape. They may appear like small dots or specks. In fact, sometimes people even mistake these floaters for dust or even small bugs (likely because floaters can appear to dart away when you try to look at them).
Fibrous Strand Floaters (aka Cobweb Floaters)
Sometimes the protein fibers in the vitreous clump together, forming strand-like shapes. They might look a bit like cobwebs, hairs, or strings. To some people, these floaters look like squiggly or wavy lines in their vision.
Weiss Ring Floaters
Ring-shaped floaters are sometimes called Weiss rings. A ring-shaped circular floater in the eye may occur when the separation of tissue happens near the optic nerve.
Eye Floater Variations in Color
Another way that eye floaters can vary in appearance is by color. Often, floaters are described as black or grey, but they could also look white or even transparent.
So, while some people may describe seeing black squiggly lines, others may see round transparent floaters.
Floaters and Flashes
As the vitreous separates from the back of the eye, it might pull at the retina. Because of this, some people experience flashes of light in the eye in addition to seeing floaters. Some people may notice this more in dim lighting, while others may not notice it at all. Floaters and flashes may occur for weeks or months.
No Matter the Type of Eye Floater…
Just remember that, more often than not, floaters (and flashes) are perfectly normal and harmless. Black, grey, stringy, or blobby—they’re all just shadows of protein strands floating about in your eyeball jelly. (Sounds appealing.)
With that said, be sure to always let your eye doctor know if you have new floaters or are experiencing flashes in your vision. Even though these symptoms are normal, they can sometimes be caused by other conditions, and only your eye doctor can check for that.
