Eye floaters can appear anytime, but often become more noticeable after an anxious or stressful episode. However, they can appear anytime and without an apparent cause, as well.
If you frequently experience stress you might wonder, can stress cause eye floaters? The simple answer is, stress alone is not responsible for eye floaters appearing. Eye floaters are caused by deterioration of the vitreous humor which often happens as people age.
However, if you suddenly have more floaters than normal, reach out to your healthcare provider right away. This could be a sign of a retinal tear or detachment. These conditions need immediate treatment. In most cases, you don't need to worry about eye floaters or occasional flashes of light.
Stay Active Sitting still and doing nothing may cause your mind to register floaters, resulting in obsessive worrying and panic. When you start to feel this way, get up and take a walk, go for a bike ride, play with a pet or talk to a friend; you'll soon notice that the floaters no longer seem as important anymore.
Anxiety can cause tunnel vision and visual snow; and perhaps other visual spots as well. In addition, floaters, tunnel vision and visual snow can cause you to become worried, anxious and hypervigilant because you think they are a symptom of a serious eye problem.
By treating anxiety, floaters will not disappear. But it may help you see past them.
Visual Signs of Anxiety
They include: Sudden blurred vision. Loss of sharpness in focusing, making objects appear hazy. This is common when someone is feeling dizzy.
It might sound strange, but floaters are a natural part of the aging of your eyes. They aren't anything to worry about unless they become excessive and/or interfere with your vision. It might be reassuring to know that floaters are always there; you just usually don't notice them in your day-to-day life.
Though stress doesn't cause floaters, it can lead to heightened awareness of tiny spots floating in your field of vision.
Can eye floaters fluctuate from day to day or throughout the day? Yes, they can vary in different light conditions and can appear more prominent against light backgrounds. Some people notice floaters more when they are tired or at the end of the day.
Being regularly dehydrated can make the vitreous lose its shape or shrink, contributing to the formation of floaters. Drinking lots of water can also aid the flushing out of toxins and debris from your body, another factor in floater formation.
For many, floaters may begin showing up between 50 and 70 years old. "Vitreous degeneration is accelerated by nearsightedness (myopia), inflammation, trauma and rare inherited abnormalities," adds Dr. Worrall. "Highly nearsighted patients tend to have more floaters than average."
Most of the time floaters are harmless. However, they can be a symptom of a tear in the retina. (The retina is the layer in the back of the eye.) If you notice a sudden increase in floaters or if you see floaters along with flashes of light in your side vision, this may be a symptom of a retinal tear or detachment.
Prolonged screentime can stress the eyes through the effects of bright or blue light, but it will not produce more eye floaters. However, floaters may be more noticeable when staring at a bright screen or background.
Here are some tricks to reduce your perception of floaters:
--Practice extending your focus as far into the distance as possible so you are not "staring at" the floaters. --If they have you stressed, practice meditation for 10 minutes, twice a day and make a conscious effort to let your thoughts about them float away.
The vitreous gel usually then melts or liquefies over the next several weeks to months. The floaters often subside starting within a few days, and all but a few settle to the bottom of the eye and disappear within a 6-month period. Some residual floaters can be seen for life.
These symptoms can reflect long-standing degenerative processes or can be caused by acute sight- threatening eye disease or occasionally neurological disease. 'Floaters' are seen as dots or spots that 'float' in front of everything looked at by the person.
Those black spots, squiggly lines and drifting cobweb shapes in your visual field are called floaters. Some patients are concerned about these moving specks, but they're usually harmless. Still, a big increase in the number of floaters could indicate a more serious problem.
Floaters can be harmless and a normal sign of aging. However, if they increase or appear with light flashes or any vision loss, call your healthcare provider since it could indicate something more serious.
Anxiety, especially severe or chronic anxiety, can affect the eyes. Some people experience eye pain, blurry vision, double vision, and tunnel vision.
Can anxiety affect vision? Anxiety and poor vision are interrelated conditions that affect each other. For example, anxiety can trigger high adrenaline levels impacting your ability to see. However, if anxiety treatment doesn't resolve vision issues, you may have Binocular Vision Dysfunction.
For some, eye floaters can disappear within a few weeks. For others, it's a matter of months. This depends on the type and severity of the floaters. In some cases, underlying conditions such as a torn retina or diabetic retinopathy can cause eye floaters to feel more apparent or longer lasting.