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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Assessment online. A doctor can judge by video how urgently your floaters or flashes need an eye examination; the examination and any laser or surgery are in person.
- What they are: floaters are shadows cast by clumps in the clear gel that fills the eye; flashes happen when the gel tugs on the retina.
- Most common cause: posterior vitreous detachment, a harmless change in the gel with age, which affects about half of people over 50.
- Why new ones matter: 8% to 22% of people with new symptoms from posterior vitreous detachment have a tear in the retina, which can lead to a detachment.
- Emergency: call 112 or go to an emergency department for a dark shadow or curtain moving across your vision, or sudden loss of sight.
Do not book a video appointment if a dark shadow or curtain is spreading across your vision, or you have suddenly lost sight in an eye: call 112 or go to an emergency department. If you have new floaters or flashes for the first time, a sudden shower of floaters, or floaters after an eye injury or operation, get an urgent eye examination at an eye clinic or optician.
Can an online doctor help with eye floaters and flashes?
No: new floaters and flashes cannot be examined online, because checking the retina needs drops to widen the pupil and an examination in person. What a doctor by video can do is work out whether your floaters are long-standing and harmless or new and need a check, recognise the warning signs of a retinal tear or detachment, tell migraine flashes apart, and tell you how urgently to be seen. If you already have a shadow across your vision, go to an emergency department rather than waiting for a video call.
How an online consultation helps with floaters and flashes
- New or long-standing?: Floaters you have had for years are usually harmless; new ones, or a sudden increase, need an eye examination.
- Urgency made clear: Whether you need emergency care, an urgent eye check or simply reassurance, and where to go.
- The eye, or a migraine?: Zigzag lines or flashing lights that pass within an hour are often migraine aura rather than a problem in the eye.
- After the eye check: What a posterior vitreous detachment means, which changes to watch for, and help with recovery after laser or surgery.
What the doctor checks in an online floaters consultation
The doctor asks about the warning signs first, then about the floaters themselves. The doctor asks about:
- Warning signs: a shadow or curtain across your vision, sudden loss of sight, blurred vision, or eye pain.
- When they started: whether the floaters or flashes are new, or the same ones you have had for months or years.
- How many: a few dots, or a sudden shower of new floaters.
- Flashes: where in your vision, how often, and whether they appear in one eye or both.
- One eye or both: checked by covering each eye in turn.
- Your eyes: short sight, earlier eye surgery such as a cataract operation, an injury, or a past retinal tear.
- Your health: migraine, diabetes, and inflammation in the eye.
Before the call, cover each eye in turn and note which one has the floaters, and whether any part of your vision is missing or shadowed.
What are eye floaters and flashes?
Floaters are small shapes that drift across your vision. The inside of the eye is filled with a clear gel, the vitreous. As you get older, the gel becomes more liquid and shrinks, and its fibres clump together and cast shadows on the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Those shadows are what you see.
- small dark or grey dots, specks or strings
- squiggly lines, rings or cobweb shapes
- shapes that move when your eyes move and seem to dart away when you look at them
- floaters that are easiest to see against a plain, bright background, such as a blue sky or a white wall
Flashes are brief flickers or streaks of light. They happen when the gel pulls on the retina. Floaters and flashes are common and usually harmless, especially if you have had them for a long time, they are not getting worse, and they do not affect your sight.
What causes floaters and flashes, and how urgent is each cause?
Most floaters come from harmless changes in the gel with age. A few causes threaten your sight, and the pattern of your symptoms tells them apart:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Cause | What you notice | How urgent |
|---|---|---|
| Age-related changes in the gel | The same few floaters for months or years | Not urgent; mention them at your next eye test |
| Posterior vitreous detachment | New floaters, sometimes flashes, usually over 50 | An urgent eye examination, to check for a tear |
| Retinal tear | A sudden shower of new floaters, often with flashes | An urgent eye examination; tears are sealed with laser |
| Retinal detachment | A dark shadow or curtain spreading across your vision, often with floaters, flashes or blurring | Emergency: call 112 or go to an emergency department |
| Bleeding into the gel | Many new dark spots or a haze, for example with diabetes or after an injury | An urgent eye examination |
| Inflammation inside the eye | Floaters with blurred vision, sometimes with pain or redness | An urgent eye examination; see uveitis |
| Migraine aura | Zigzag lines or flashing lights that pass within an hour | Not an eye emergency; urgent advice if it lasts longer than an hour |
Floaters are more likely if you are over 50, short-sighted, have had an eye injury or complications after cataract surgery, or have diabetic eye disease or inflammation in the eye. Air or oil bubbles after eye surgery or an injection can also look like floaters until the eye absorbs them.
Posterior vitreous detachment: the most common cause
In a posterior vitreous detachment, the shrinking gel pulls away from the retina at the back of the eye. It is a normal part of ageing: about 53% of people over 50 and 66% of people aged 66 to 86 have one. It is more common in short-sighted people, in women and after eye surgery or an injury.
It usually causes new floaters and sometimes flashes, and it is harmless in itself. The risk is that, as the gel pulls away, it tears the retina: 8% to 22% of people with new symptoms have a tear at their first examination, which is why new floaters or flashes always need an eye check. If no tear is found, you are usually reassured and told which warning signs to look out for, and some people are asked back for a second check within a few weeks.
Do floaters from a posterior vitreous detachment go away?
They often become less noticeable as you get used to them. Treatment is needed only if something affects your vision.
Retinal tears and detachment: why new flashes need a check
A retinal detachment is when the retina comes away from the back of the eye. It usually starts with a tear, and it needs treating quickly to stop it permanently affecting your sight. At least half of the horseshoe-shaped tears that cause symptoms go on to detach the retina if they are not treated, which is why tears are sealed promptly.
What does a retinal detachment look like?
Usually a dark shadow or curtain spreading across part of your vision, with new floaters, flashes of light or blurred vision. It is painless. You are more at risk if you are short-sighted, have had an eye operation such as cataract surgery, have had an eye injury, or have a family history of retinal detachment.
How long before a retinal detachment causes blindness?
There is no safe time to wait. A detached retina needs treating quickly to stop it permanently affecting your sight, so treat a shadow across your vision as an emergency and go straight to an emergency department.
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Treatment | Used for | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Laser or freezing treatment (cryotherapy) | Sealing a tear before it detaches | Done in an eye clinic, often promptly after the tear is found |
| Vitrectomy | A detachment: the gel is removed and replaced | Usually under a local anaesthetic; a gas or oil bubble may hold the retina in place |
| Scleral buckle | A detachment: a band is attached around the eye | Usually under a local anaesthetic |
| Pneumatic retinopexy | A detachment: a gas bubble is injected into the eye | You may need to keep your head in a set position |
After surgery, you may be asked to lie or sit in a particular position for up to 7 days, your vision may be blurred for 2 to 6 weeks, and you may not be able to drive. With a gas bubble in your eye, you need to avoid flying. Surgery usually stops your vision getting worse, and most people eventually return to their normal activities.
Do floaters go away, and how do you get rid of them?
Floaters do not always disappear, but they often become less noticeable as you get used to them, and some settle out of your line of sight. There is no home treatment that removes them, and most floaters need no treatment at all. Regular eye tests check that they are not getting worse.
For a small number of people whose floaters seriously affect their sight, an eye specialist may discuss treatment, such as an operation to remove the gel (vitrectomy). It is used only rarely, because eye surgery carries risks.
What might the doctor recommend for floaters and flashes?
What happens next depends on whether your symptoms are new and whether there are warning signs. This is the framework the doctors use:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| What you have | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| The same floaters for months or years, no change | Reassurance; mention them at your next eye test | Yes | Not usually needed |
| New floaters or flashes for the first time | An eye examination with drops to widen the pupil | Yes, to assess | Urgently, at an eye clinic or optician |
| A sudden shower of floaters, or flashes with blurred vision or eye pain | An urgent eye examination | Yes, to assess | Urgently, in person |
| Floaters after an eye operation or an injury | An urgent eye examination | No, beyond advice | Urgently, in person |
| Zigzag lines or flashing lights that pass within an hour | Assessment for migraine aura | Yes | If it lasts more than an hour; call 112 for weakness or loss of vision |
| Recovering from a retinal tear or detachment repair | Advice on posture, flying, driving and warning signs | Yes | If pain, redness or blurring gets worse |
| A shadow or curtain across your vision, or sudden loss of sight | Emergency eye care | No | Call 112 now |
New floaters or flashes and not sure how urgent they are? A doctor can tell you in one consultation where to go and how quickly.
See available times →Treatment options for floaters and flashes
What you can do yourself
- Note when the floaters started, and check each eye in turn by covering the other.
- Get an urgent eye examination for any new floaters or flashes.
- Watch for the warning signs over the following weeks: more floaters, more flashes, a shadow or blurred vision.
- Do not drive if a shadow or blurring affects your sight.
- Keep up regular eye tests, especially if you are short-sighted or over 50.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation. No medicine or eye drop removes floaters. Retinal tears are sealed with laser or freezing treatment, and detachments are repaired with surgery, by eye specialists in person. Inflammation inside the eye is treated by an eye specialist, and the doctor may advise on pain relief or other medicines during recovery. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
What does not help
Waiting to see whether new floaters or flashes settle before having your eyes checked. Rubbing your eyes. Driving with a shadow or blurring in your vision.
Special situations
Short sight
Short-sighted people are more likely to have floaters, posterior vitreous detachment and retinal detachment, so new symptoms need a prompt check.
After cataract surgery or an eye injury
New floaters or flashes after an operation or an injury need an urgent eye examination. After retinal surgery, go to an emergency department if pain, redness or blurring gets worse.
Diabetes
Diabetic eye disease can cause bleeding into the gel, which shows as many new dark spots or a haze. This needs an urgent eye examination.
Flying and travelling in Europe
New flashes or floaters on a trip need an eye examination wherever you are, and a shadow across your vision means 112. After retinal surgery with a gas bubble in your eye, you must not fly until your eye specialist says the bubble has gone.
Children
Mobi Doctor consultations are for adults aged 18 and over. A child who is unwell needs a paediatrician or a local doctor in person, and emergency signs in a child mean 112.
When eye floaters are assessed online, and when you need in-person care
Assessed online: long-standing floaters, deciding how urgently new floaters or flashes need an eye examination, telling migraine aura apart, and advice after a posterior vitreous detachment or retinal surgery.
In-person care: every new floater or flash, which needs an examination with drops to widen the pupil, laser for tears, surgery for detachments, and any shadow across your vision or sudden loss of sight, which is an emergency.
When to get in-person care
Call 112 or go to an emergency department now for:
- a dark shadow or curtain moving across your vision
- flashes of light with a shadow or a loss of part of your vision
- sudden loss of sight in one or both eyes
- flashing lights or blurred vision with weakness of the face, arm or leg, or difficulty speaking
Get medical advice the same day for:
- floaters or flashes for the first time
- a sudden increase in floaters or flashes
- floaters or flashes with blurred vision or eye pain
- floaters or flashes after an eye operation or an injury
- zigzag lines or flashing lights that last longer than an hour
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: daily 7am–11pm CEST. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, and the exact price is shown before you pay.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about what you see: say when the floaters or flashes started, which eye, whether they are new, and whether any part of your vision is shadowed or missing.
- Leave with a plan: what to do, what to take and for how long, and which signs mean you should be seen in person. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
No sign-up needed
Floaters and flashes can have more than one cause. Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call. If you have an emergency sign listed on this page, call 112 instead.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Blurred vision can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about eye floaters and flashes
What are eye floaters?
Floaters are small dots, lines, rings or cobweb shapes that drift across your vision. They are shadows cast on the retina by clumps in the clear gel inside the eye, and they are usually harmless.
What causes floaters in the eye?
Most floaters come from the gel inside the eye becoming more liquid and shrinking with age, often as a posterior vitreous detachment. Less often they come from a retinal tear, bleeding into the gel, or inflammation inside the eye.
When should I worry about eye floaters?
Get an urgent eye examination for new floaters or flashes, a sudden increase in floaters, or floaters with blurred vision, eye pain, or after an operation or injury. A dark shadow or curtain across your vision is an emergency: call 112.
Do eye floaters go away?
They do not always disappear, but they often become less noticeable as you get used to them, and some drift out of your line of sight. Floaters that are new or increasing need an eye examination.
How do I get rid of floaters in my eye?
There is no home treatment that removes floaters, and most need no treatment: they often become less noticeable over time. For a few people whose floaters seriously affect their sight, an eye specialist may discuss surgery, which carries risks.
What can I do at home about eye floaters?
Nothing removes harmless floaters, but they bother people less over time as the brain learns to ignore them: move the eyes up and down to shift a floater out of the line of sight, use good lighting, cut screen glare, and wear sunglasses outdoors, since floaters show most against a bright sky or white screen. Do not rub the eyes or try drops or supplements sold for floaters, which do not work. New floaters with flashes or a shadow need an examination quickly.
What can trigger eye floaters?
Ageing changes in the gel inside the eye, short sight, an eye injury, eye surgery such as a cataract operation, diabetic eye disease and inflammation inside the eye. New floaters often start when the gel pulls away from the retina.
Are eye floaters normal?
Yes, floaters are common and usually harmless, especially if you have had them for a long time and they are not changing. New floaters, or a sudden increase, are different and need a check.
Can eye floaters be prevented?
Not the age-related kind, which almost everyone develops as the gel in the eye changes after 50, earlier in short-sighted people; what can be reduced is the risk of the serious causes, by keeping diabetes and blood pressure controlled, wearing eye protection for sport and DIY, having regular eye tests if you are very short-sighted or have had eye surgery, and knowing the warning signs. Floaters from inflammation or bleeding are prevented by treating those conditions early.
What do flashes of light in the eye mean?
Flashes happen when the gel inside the eye pulls on the retina, often during a posterior vitreous detachment. New flashes need an urgent eye examination to check for a tear. Zigzag lines that pass within an hour are often migraine aura.
Are they floaters, or something else in my vision?
Floaters drift and lag behind when the eye moves, and they show most against a bright background; flashes from the retina are brief sparks at the edge of vision. The zigzag, shimmering lines of a migraine aura spread across both eyes over 20 to 30 minutes and then fade; a fixed dark patch that does not move is a blind spot from the retina or optic nerve; a curtain spreading across the view is a detachment; and specks that wipe away sit on the surface.
What does a retinal detachment look like?
Usually a dark shadow or curtain spreading across part of your vision, often with new floaters, flashes or blurred vision. It is painless, and it is an emergency: call 112 or go to an emergency department.
How long before a retinal detachment causes blindness?
There is no safe time to wait when floaters and flashes signal a detachment. A detached retina needs treating quickly to stop it permanently affecting your sight, so a shadow across your vision is an emergency: call 112 or go to an emergency department.
Can an online doctor check eye floaters?
A doctor by video can judge whether floaters are long-standing and harmless or new and need an urgent eye examination, and can tell migraine flashes apart. Checking the retina needs an examination in person.
- Floaters and flashes in the eyes, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 20 June 2023.
- Eye floaters: symptoms and causes, Mayo Clinic (US), 2 July 2024.
- Detached retina (retinal detachment), NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 4 August 2023.
- Posterior vitreous detachment, StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf, updated 25 August 2023.
- Management of posterior vitreous detachment, retinal tears and holes, Right Decisions, NHS Scotland, ophthalmology guideline version 5, approved 25 August 2023.
- Migraine: symptoms, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 10 March 2026.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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