Everyone has floaters – lie on your back and look up at a blue sky and you will see myriads of dots, lines and wiggles in the vision. These are normal imperfections in the jelly of the eye and there is no need to see an eye specialist about them. Sometimes, however, the floaters may be bigger and much more intrusive. This does not necessarily mean that there is a problem but where they start to get in the way of the vision then it is wise to see a doctor. If the floaters are very annoying then wearing dark glasses can make them less visible. Sometimes – but very rarely – they may become so bad that they interfere with the quality of life of the sufferer, and it is possible to do surgery to remove the jelly and the floaters.

A sudden change in the number, size and severity of floaters can indicate retinal detachment – see an eye doctor soon.