How can you prevent eye floaters?
What are floaters?
If you’ve ever looked up at the sky, or at a plain background like a white wall, and have seen little black dots or lines across your vision, you’re not alone. These are floaters and 70% of people will experience them at some point in their lifetime. Floaters can appear as spots, squiggles or cobweb-like shapes and they typically move with your eyes as you look in different directions.
The majority of floaters are caused by changes in the eye’s vitreous. This is the gel-like substance in your eye which keeps its circular shape and, as you age, it becomes more liquid in consistency. This age-related change allows tiny fibres in the vitreous to clump together, causing small shadows which are seen as floaters.
Generally, floaters are harmless and are absolutely nothing to worry about. In rare cases, they can be a symptom of something more serious which is why, if they come on very suddenly or appear alongside flashing, you should seek medical advice. For most people, their floaters will gradually sink down and settle at the bottom of their eye, sitting below their line of vision.
Steps to prevent floaters forming
Floaters can form for a number of reasons, ranging from your diet and hydration to stress levels and digital screen exposure. You don’t have complete control over whether floaters form, but there are steps you can take to minimise your risk of them occurring. First things first, you should have an eye test every two years to check the health of your eyes and ensure that you aren’t suffering from any conditions you don’t know about. Experiencing lots of floaters can be a symptom of a detached retina, so attending regular eye tests can help you rule things like this out.
1. Eat a healthy diet
Your diet actually plays a huge part in your eye health. It’s been found that foods such as processed meat, refined carbohydrates, deep fried foods, and sugary foods cause inflammation throughout the body, including in the eye. These could be a cause of floaters. You can switch the foods out for leafy greens, fish containing omega-3 fatty acids, and citrus fruits, which are found to benefit your overall eye health.
2. Reduce smoking and alcohol consumption
Cigarettes contain a number of chemicals, some of which are known to cause damage to your eyes and therefore lead to the development of floaters. You can read more about how smoking affects your eye health on our blog here. Regular consumption of alcohol has been found to cause premature ageing to the vitreous humour, again leading to floaters. If you already have floaters, it’s possible that excessive smoking and drinking will worsen them.
3. Stay hydrated
Your vitreous humour, the gel-like substance we discussed earlier, is made up of 98% water. Being regularly dehydrated can make the vitreous lose its shape or shrink, contributing to the formation of floaters. Drinking lots of water can also aid the flushing out of toxins and debris from your body, another factor in floater formation. You can read more about the eye health benefits of drinking water and staying hydrated on our blog here.
4. Use hyaluronic acid
Hyaluronic acid has gained popularity in recent years as part of people’s skincare routines, helping to hydrate and brighten skin. However, did you know that it’s also used after eye surgery as a method of reducing inflammation? Some people claim that the acid can help dissolve eye floaters, although there isn’t a great deal of evidence to support this. It is recommended that you speak to your doctor before investing in hyaluronic acid eye drops, as it’s not the right choice for everyone.
5. Get sufficient sleep
After a particularly poor night’s sleep, have you ever felt that your floaters are more visible? This is likely because your eyes feel strained and irritated, potentially even feeling dry. All of these factors can feed into your floaters appearing more obvious across your visual field. To help combat this, the obvious answer is to sleep more! If that’s not possible on the day, you can also try to massage your eyes gently or apply a warm compress to soothe them.
6. Reduce your screen time
Leading on from strained and irritated eyes occurring due to a lack of sleep, it’s also important to address the eye strain that can be caused by too much exposure to digital screens. While this may not cause floaters or actually make them worse, staring at digital screens for hours on end can make your floaters appear worse. This is because, on bright backgrounds, they are more noticeable and you’re likely to pay more attention to them in these settings. Reducing your screen time should also reduce eye strain, which you can read more about on our blog here.
7. Invest in protective eyewear
Some eye injuries can result in floaters, particularly if the vitreous humour is disrupted or damaged. Wearing protective eyewear for certain sports or jobs – such as construction or metal work – is recommended in order to prevent debris from entering your eyes and causing damage. If you find yourself regularly in a situation where your eye health is at risk like this, perhaps protective eyewear is the answer.
8. Minimise stress and anxiety
It has been found that regular stress can trigger the formation of floaters. Whether it’s your job or personal life that is causing you stress, trying to minimise anxiety levels should help to improve your eye health. Lots of people find that exercise or making time for hobbies helps them to reduce stress. As well as being something you enjoy, it is also likely to reduce the amount of new floaters you experience!
If you notice floaters coming on suddenly or being accompanied by flashes of light, you should seek medical advice immediately. You should also ensure that you attend an eye test regularly so that any issues with your eye health can be picked up early and treated promptly.
For further information about floaters, you can read more on our blog here.