Even if you are already aware that eye floaters are normal, you may be wondering what causes them. When it comes to floaters in the eye, causes vary, but there are a couple of main reasons that they exist. One is quite normal, while the other may be cause for concern, making the causes helpful to know.

Normal Causes

Floaters are found in the vitreous humor of the eye, which is a jelly-like substance that tends to shrink a bit over time. Eventually, the jelly begins to liquefy, creating small pockets of the jelly within the already existing vitreous. The border between the firmer vitreous and the small pockets of jelly may be recognized as floaters by most people. Since this occurrence is considered normal, it is okay to see floaters in the eye occasionally, especially as you age.

Abnormities in the Eye

On the other hand, some floaters in the eye causes are not normal, and should be checked out by an eye doctor right away. One abnormality that may cause floaters is the sudden appearance of cellular material in the eye, particularly in the vitreous. One type of cellular material may be white blood cells, which is brought on by inflammation. This could be caused by an injury to the eye, some type of eye surgery, and any kind of infection since the body uses white blood cells to fight off harmful substances.

Red blood cells may also appear, usually due to a hemorrhage in the eye. This may occur after the vitreous has been poked or injured in any way, a blood vessel has been torn, or there has been some type of eye surgery. These are just a few of the main floaters in the eye causes that should be looked at by a doctor rather than just ignored. In such cases, eye floaters treatment is the next step since once the underlying problem is fixed, the floaters should be eliminated.