Floaters often appear as pieces of lint, dust, or debris that float around and are seen best with an azure blue sky, gray fog bank, or a slightly off-white wall as the background. Flashes can appear as streaks of light, lightening bolts, shooting stars, sparks of light, or an arc of light to the side.
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Flashes and Floaters  Information for adults

Picture of Flashes and Floaters: Floaters often appear as pieces of lint, dust, or debris that float around and are seen best with an azure blue sky, gray fog bank, or a slightly off-white wall as the background. Divider line
Floaters often appear as pieces of lint, dust, or debris that float around and are seen best with an azure blue sky, gray fog bank, or a slightly off-white wall as the background.
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Signs and Symptoms
Although you cannot see floaters or flashes just by looking at the eye, you know you have them when you see:

  • Sparks of light.
  • Shooting stars of light.
  • Lightening-like bolts of light.
  • Arcs of light to the side.
  • Hair-like, spider-like, or twig-like objects in your line of vision.
The floaters are best seen against a background of an azure blue sky, a slightly off-white-colored wall, or in the area lit up by car headlights in a dense fog. Notice also that floaters follow you as you look around. So, if you look to the left, the floaters will drift into your left field of vision as well.
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Last Modified: 22 Dec 2008
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