Understanding Floaters & Flashes
Learn about floaters and flashes, warning signs and when to seek urgent eye assessment with Dr Nor Diyana at Pantai Hospital Klang, Selangor.
What Are Floaters & Flashes?
Floaters & Flashes Symptoms
Symptoms may include:
- Small spots, dots, threads or cobweb-like shapes drifting across your vision
- Floaters that are more noticeable against a bright sky or plain background
- Brief flashes or streaks of light, often at the edge of your vision
Seek urgent, same-day eye assessment for new or suddenly increasing floaters or flashes. A dark curtain, shadow or sudden loss of vision is an emergency—even without pain.
Floaters are small spots, threads or cobweb-like shapes that appear to drift across your vision. They often arise from changes in the vitreous—the clear gel inside the eye.
Flashes are brief streaks or flickers of light that can occur when the vitreous pulls on the retina. Although floaters and flashes commonly occur with age-related changes, new or suddenly increasing symptoms may indicate a retinal tear or detachment and require urgent eye assessment.
Treatment depends on the cause. A dilated retinal examination is needed to check for retinal tears or detachment. If no serious underlying problem is found, monitoring may be recommended, and floaters may become less noticeable over time.
A retinal tear may require laser or freezing treatment to help prevent retinal detachment. A retinal detachment usually requires urgent surgery. Follow-up examinations may be needed, and any new or worsening symptoms should be assessed promptly.