If you ever notice pesky dark strands that may resemble anything from a simple speck to a cobweb drifting across your vision, what you're probably seeing is what's known as an eye floater.

For most people, these shadowy figures—known as eye floaters—are a harmless visual quirk. However, for those dealing with anxiety, floaters can become a significant source of distress.

If you see blurry shadows, also called floaters, or flashes of light, you could have PVD. As you get older, a gel inside your eye — called vitreous gel — can liquefy over time. It can slowly ...

The authors propose that floaters are usually diffraction patterns cast on the retina by red blood cells They are the spots that most people occasionally see before their eyes.