Doctor shares what you should be doing if you see ‘floaters’ with your eyes

It's a common issue

It's the one sunny day of the year in the UK and you gaze upwards to admire the beautiful phenomenon known as 'a clear blue sky' and suddenly you see it, weird squiggles, floating above you.

No these aren't worms in your eyes or dragons floating across the horizons, they're known as eye floaters and are common among people.

So common in fact that many people have been asking about the issue on the 21st century oracle of health and wellbeing advice, Reddit.

Taking to the site, the user wrote: “I am an eye doctor AMA [ask me anything].”

Underneath, commenters amassed to debate issues of eye health with one person asking: "What causes eye floaties (those dark floating specs in your vision) I was told not to be concerned, but not what causes them.

“They are annoying, but should I be concerned?”

In response, the doctor typed: “Eye floaters are common, they are basically wads of connective tissue floating around the vitreous (jelly part of the eye that gives it the structure and shape).

“If they are longstanding it is fine. If you wake up one morning with new ones and start seeing flashing lights you should see an eye doc ASAP!”

Experts describe eye floaters as being small spots of collagen drifting through your field of vision.

Often they are more noticeable when looking at bright things such as white objects and the clear, blue sky.

The NHS say that the phenomenon is common in people, notably the elderly, as eye floaters are related to changes in the eyeball which are often age related.

They can appear in all shapes and sizes from black dots to long translucent wavey lines.

These floaters originate during a process called posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), where the gel inside your eyes changes.

A Web MD specialist wrote: “As you age, the protein fibres that make up the vitreous shrink into little shreds that clump together.

“The shadows they cast on your retina are floaters.”

Any kind of flashing should be reported to a doctor as this could signify a detachment of the retina.

There's little you can do if those pesky floater are getting on your nerves, however, there are a couple tips you can try.

Some suggest to shift the fluid around in your eyes by looking up and down, while supplements can help maintain general eye health.

Such supplements include Vitamin A, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc.

Meanwhile general good practice such as avoiding smoking and eating a balanced diet can help with general eye health.

If you're lucky enough to not already have eye floaters, try to avoid long periods looking at screens, especially at close range, as this can lead to myopia and a shift in eyeball shape which can encourage eye floaters to form.

However, best practice is to just ignore them!