What is flashes & floaters?
- Part of the eye
- Vitreous
- Group
- Retina & sight loss
- Vision functions involved
- Visual field
- Main source
- NHS
Floaters look like dots, threads or cobwebs drifting across your sight. Long-standing floaters which have not changed are usually harmless. New symptoms need assessment.
Optometrist
An eye-care professional who tests sight, checks eye health and can refer you for specialist care.
How flashes & floaters can affect day-to-day life
You may recognise some of these situations, or none of them. The point is to find help with the things you want to do.
Reading on a bright screen
Long-standing floaters can stand out against a white page or bright computer background.
After new symptoms have been checked, try a comfortable lower screen brightness. Keep text easy to read.
Sunny days
Floaters may be more obvious against the sky or another light background.
Sunglasses in bright conditions may make established floaters less noticeable. They do not treat a retinal problem.
A new change during the day
A sudden shower of dots, new flashes, a shadow or blur may interrupt an ordinary task.
Seek urgent optician or NHS 111 advice. Do not assume new symptoms are the same harmless floaters you had before.
Changes you may notice
- Floaters or flashes for the first time, or a sudden increase in them.
- A dark curtain or shadow, blur, or eye pain alongside them.
Everyone is different. Symptoms on their own cannot identify a condition.
What to do about a new or sudden changeAssessment and care
Ask for an urgent optometrist appointment or contact NHS 111 if these symptoms appear suddenly, increase, or follow an eye injury or eye surgery. An examination can look for a retinal tear or detachment. Sudden loss of sight needs emergency care.
How vision is affected
These topics explain the parts of vision involved. They do not predict your sight, diagnose anything or show the condition itself.
Visual field
Finding a face and noticing the edge of a step make different demands on sight. One uses the centre of your view. The other uses the edges.
Open the visual field labEveryday support
Note when the symptoms started and which eye is affected. Arrange transport if you are asked to attend, because pupil-dilating drops can blur your sight for a few hours.
A question to take to your appointment
Has my retina been checked, and which changes mean I must come back urgently?Prepare your appointment checklist
Sources and review status
Sources checked 4 October 2026. Educational draft, not yet clinically reviewed. No clinician has endorsed this page. Follow the advice of your own eye-care team.
How this content is prepared