If you ever notice pesky dark strands that may resemble anything from a simple speck to a cobweb drifting across your vision, what you're probably seeing is what's known as an eye floater.

For most people, these shadowy figures—known as eye floaters—are a harmless visual quirk. However, for those dealing with anxiety, floaters can become a significant source of distress.

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 67-year-old male with generally good vision. I have had a few floaters in my eyes over the years, but they have generally been small and have not significantly affected my ...

If you see blurry shadows, also called floaters, or flashes of light, you could have PVD. As you get older, a gel inside your eye — called vitreous gel — can liquefy over time. It can slowly ...

Sometimes, flashes of light in the eye could signal a severe problem. They may also appear alongside floaters, which are tiny dots or lines that may appear in a person’s vision. The combination ...

The authors propose that floaters are usually diffraction patterns cast on the retina by red blood cells They are the spots that most people occasionally see before their eyes.