The harmless ‘floaters’ popping up in your vision could be a sign of permanent eye damage, a new study has found.<\/p>\n
Studies estimate as many as three in four Americans occasionally have tiny specks or cobweb-like shapes called vitreous floaters in their eyesight.<\/p>\n
These floaters are caused by fibers of collagen, a structural protein, clumping together in the eye’s gel-like substance called the vitreous, which sits behind the lens and in front of the retina.<\/p>\n
While most common with age and nearsightedness, floaters are usually harmless, and the brain eventually learns to ignore them.<\/p>\n
But researchers in the Netherlands<\/a>\u00a0have warned that the sudden onset of floaters could be a sign of retinal detachment<\/a>, which occurs when the light-sensitive retina pulls away from the back of the eye.<\/p>\n Without immediate surgical or laser treatment, retinal detachment can cause permanent vision loss.<\/p>\n Other signs of retinal detachment include flashes of light and dark shadows or curtains moving across the field of vision.<\/p>\n Roughly 28,000 Americans suffer retinal detachment each year, which is usually caused by eye injuries, severe nearsightedness and aging.<\/p>\n In a new study, researchers warn sudden onset of floaters in a person’s vision could be a first sign of retinal detachment (stock image)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"In](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2026\/03\/25\/14\/107407327-15678009-image-a-23_1774448361311.jpg\")
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