Flashes and Floaters — Which ones matter, and which do not

At Eyecare Center of Orange County, Dr. Alexander Bonakdar has cared for patients for more than three decades. Trained at Bascom Palmer, board certified, and trusted by more than ten thousand Orange County patients since nineteen ninety one.

The clear jelly filling your eye shrinks as you age and pulls away from the retina. This is normal, very common, and usually harmless.

Sometimes the jelly is stuck to a spot on the retina, and pulling away tears it. Fluid then seeps underneath and lifts the retina off the wall of the eye.

Three signs mean you should be seen the same day. A sudden shower of new floaters. Repeated flashes of light. Or a shadow moving across your vision like a curtain.

Caught early, a tear can be sealed in the clinic in minutes. Once the retina detaches it needs surgery in an operating theatre. The difference is often only days.

If you get new flashes or a sudden shower of floaters, call us. Do not wait for your next appointment.