In most cases, floaters do not cause any significant problems and do not require treatment. Eye drops or other similar forms of medication are ineffective and will not make floaters disappear.
After a while, your brain may learn to ignore floaters and you may not notice them. If a floater appears directly in your line of vision, moving your eye up and down may help. It will cause the vitreous humour in your eye to move around, which may help by shifting the floater elsewhere.
Monitoring your condition
Your optometrist (optician) may ask you to return for a follow-up appointment two to six months after your symptoms began to check that your retina is stable. The retina is the light-sensitive layer of cells and tissue at the back of your eye.
If your vision is fine and your floaters are not getting worse, you may be advised to have appointments every one or two years. If your symptoms worsen at any time, you should seek immediate medical advice, either from your optometrist or GP.
Vitrectomy
A vitrectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the vitreous humour in your eye along with any floating debris and replace it with a saline (salty) solution.
A vitrectomy may be a possible treatment if your floaters do not improve over time, or if they significantly affect your vision. However, vitrectomies are rarely carried out due to the associated risks of eye surgery and may not be available on the NHS.
Before having a vitrectomy your eye will be numbed with a local anaesthetic (painkilling medication). During the procedure, the vitreous humour will be removed from the vitreous body of your eye and replaced with saline solution.
As the vitreous humour is mostly made of water, you will not notice any difference after having a vitrectomy. However, possible complications of a vitrectomy may include:
