Black threads, flies, dots float before my eyes

Myodesopsia - visual aberrations in the form of black flies, strings or dots in front of the eyes. The symptom accompanies pathological processes, some physiological conditions. Non-existent objects "float" in the field of vision due to ophthalmic disorders, neurological dysfunctions, metabolic disorders.

General characteristics of the symptom

Dark spots of various geometrical configurations appear during visual contact, mainly when looking at a light background. Imaginary objects move in sync with the eyeball.

The symptom distorts and obstructs visual perception. Severe manifestations of myodesopia are accompanied by headaches of varying strength and duration, and vestibular disorders.

Optical aberrations, depending on the etiological factor and the depth of the lesion, take the form:

• points;
• fine dust;
• thin thread lines;
• ball weaves;
• black zigzags;
• grains;
• nodular objects;
• snowflakes.
• sparkling effects;
• flashing lightning;
• golden or silvery rain.

Most often, dark structures resemble small flies or dust particles. There are no physical sensations associated with such pollution. The symptom is purely optical in nature.

Black threads or objects of other geometric shapes "float" before the eyes, often when looking at a wall of light tonality, a snowy surface, a clear sky. The main feature of visual disorder is the stable outlines of imaginary structures over a long period of time.

The optical effect enhances bright lighting. Blurred vision has an age distribution. Myodesopia occurs more often in older patients than in younger patients. At the age of 50-59 years, the symptom is found in 24% of the total number, and by the age of 80, myodesopsy is recorded in 87% of patients.

An increase in the prevalence of the symptom in women associated with pregnancy, menstrual cycle, hormonal fluctuations has been noticed. A visual disorder provoked by psychoemotional or physical overstrain spontaneously disappears after stabilization of the state.

Reasons for the appearance of strings, flies, points in front of the eyes

Myodesopia accompanies age-related changes in the structure of the vitreous body, hemodynamic disorders of the visual organ, metabolic dysfunctions.

Among the common reasons for the distortion of optical perception are:

• ophthalmic diseases;
• senile destruction;
• the consequences of surgical procedures;
• traumatic damage to the visual analyzer;
• concussion;
• sudden changes in intravascular pressure;
• inflammatory processes in the ocular apparatus - uveitis, conjunctivitis, others;
• systemic intoxication with drugs, stale food products, chemicals;
• internal bleeding;
• vegetative dystonia;
• tear or detachment of the retina of the eyes.

Physical exhaustion, exhausting diets for weight loss, excessive nervous stress lead to the appearance of myodesopia. The symptom is manifested due to radiation exposure, strong vibration exposure, uncontrolled intake of oral contraceptives.

Opacities are characteristic of ocular migraines. An unpleasant symptom is caused by a high degree of myopia (myopia), which is more than -6 diopters. Subjective sensations of foreign objects in the field of vision are caused by congenital or acquired anomalies of the optical analyzer.

This irritating effect is often due to the spasmodic state of the blood vessels feeding the biological tissues of the eyes.

 Of the reasons not of an ophthalmic nature, there are:

• dysfunction of the pancreas or thyroid gland;
• digestive disorders;
• mechanical or chemical damage to the gastrointestinal tract;
• hepatobiliary pathologies;
• iron deficiency anemia;
• heart failure;
• hypoxic conditions caused by oxygen starvation.

Myodesopia occurs due to vitamin and mineral deficiency, pathological changes in the blood count, overstrain of the visual apparatus. The symptom provokes a severe course of gestation, bacterial-viral and fungal infections.

Age changes

After 60 years, noticeable destructive processes begin in the vitreous body of the visual analyzer, provoked by inhibition of collagen synthesis and dissociation of fibrillar protein from hyaluronic acid.

Black threads often "float" before the eyes as a result of such an inevitable age-related change. There is an aggregation of fibrils - filamentous structures of the cellular cytoplasm responsible for motor-skeletal functions.

The process leads to the formation of fibers of increased density, scattering the light radiation perceived by the mesh shell. Dysfunction is pathological or due to natural age-related causes.

In the latter case, tissue fibrosis occurs. Compaction of the light-sensitive channels causes them to lose their natural transparency. Sticking of the walls is observed, the formation of structural interlacing of filamentary tissues.

The brain perceives such formations as extraneous dark objects that have fallen into the field of view. An additional age-related factor of functional impairment is a decrease in the density of the physiological filler of the vitreous body, which plays the role of an optical conductor.

As a result, voids of various sizes and densities appear in the organ cavity. The light flux passing through the vitreous body is refracted depending on the consistency of the physiological substance.

This age-related phenomenon is due to the geometric diversity of non-existent objects in the field of view. The optic nerve perceives the difference between the refraction of a light beam in a discharged and dense biological environment with luminous lightning or short flashes.

Older patients are characterized by a subjective sensation of golden or silvery "rain" in the eyes. The optical effect causes the accumulation of crystallized deposits of calcium-phosphorus-magnesium salts.

Myodesopia caused by age-related changes is provoked by hypercholesterolemia - the injection of an organic lipophilic substance into the plasma fraction of blood. This cause of visual disturbance is characteristic of patients with overweight and diseases of the biliary tract.

Ophthalmic pathologies

This category of etiological factors of myodesopsia includes organic lesions of the vitreous body or morphological changes in its structure, provoked by systemic functional violations.

Other common ophthalmic causes of visual disturbance are presented in the table:

Intraocular disease	Pathogenesis and clinical characteristics
Myopia	An anomaly of optical refraction, characterized by the focusing of perceived light radiation not on the retina, but in front of it. With myopia, the image of objects is fuzzy and blurry.
Cataract	Clouding of the lens body of the optical system. The pathology is caused by the denaturation of a special protein compound. The disease characterizes the risk of a sharp deterioration or complete loss of vision. With a decrease in the acuity of perception, optical aberrations occur.
Intraocular tumor	Melanoma, retinoblastoma or choroidal hemangioma leads to a change in the structure of the vitreous body, the appearance of areas of different density in it, scattering the light flux. This is due to optical distortion, the sensation of foreign objects in the field of vision.
Hemophthalmos	Multifactorial destructive process provoked by hemorrhage in the physiological filler of the vitreous body. As a result, the density of the refractive medium changes, which the optic nerve perceives by flies, strings, dots and other foreign objects.

Myodesopia often accompanies traumatic, burns or age-related detachment of the posterior surface of the vitreous body. Blurred vision is caused by inflammatory processes of the optical system, edema of the central part of the retina, and corneal contamination.

Of the bacterial and viral causes of the ophthalmic category, an unpleasant symptom is provoked by damage to the optic nerve by pathogenic microorganisms and dacryocystitis - infection of the lacrimal sac.

Myodesopsia is caused by parasitic invasions. Common causative agents of such infectious processes are worms of the genus of helminths and specific ticks that provoke demodicosis or onchocerciasis.

Vascular disorders

The natural tone of the blood vessels ensures an optimal level of blood pressure. With a decrease in blood pressure below 100/60 or with an indicator above 140/90 mm Hg. Art. the hemodynamic parameters of the intraocular vascular network change.

Myodesopia is a symptom of:

• Arterial hypotension. A decrease in the level of intravascular pressure is manifested by attacks of dizziness, a temporary decrease in visual acuity, blurred vision, and the appearance of flies in front of the eyes. Arterial hypotension is provoked by dehydration of the body, massive blood loss, hemothorax.
• Hypertension. With an increase in intravascular pressure, a headache occurs, a sensation of tinnitus, and tachycardic symptoms develop. Frequent clinical signs of hypertension are shortness of breath, optical distortions in the form of black bars or dots.
• Cerebral hemodynamic disorders. A sharp increase in blood pressure in the vessels of the brain provokes disorders of the neurovegetative function. They are manifested by intense cephalalgia, visual dysfunctions, profuse sweating.
• Aortic insufficiency. This dysfunction is accompanied by intracranial hypertension. The vessels feeding the visual organ are involved in the pathological process, which leads to a violation of optical perception.

The result of vascular disorders is oxygen starvation of the eyeball with the development of an acute hypoxic state. The rheological properties and biochemical characteristics of the liquid media of the visual analyzer change, the structure of the retina and the vitreous body is damaged.

Foreign objects often appear in front of the eyes due to photosensitization - an increase in the sensitivity of biological tissues of the ophthalmic organ to light radiation. Black threads or points "float" in the field of view sometimes for this reason. This condition is a symptom of severe arterial hypertension.

Optical aberrations occur in atherosclerosis. Compression injuries of the bloodstreams and dystrophic changes in them provoked by osteochondrosis lead to myodesopsia.

The symptom accompanies discirculatory encephalopathy - chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency of a progressive course. Severe pathology is caused by a progressive deterioration in the blood supply to the departments and anatomical structures of the brain.

Visual dysfunction of this etiology is combined with high-intensity cephalalgia, periodic severe dizziness, and coordination-motor disorders.

Hormonal changes

Flickering of non-existent objects in front of the eyes in the direction of sight often accompanies pregnancy. In such a physiological state, hormonal changes in the body take place, the parameters of endocrine activity change.

The activation of the production of biologically active compounds creates an excessive load on the bloodstream and the cardiovascular apparatus. The arteries feeding the eyeballs are involved in the process.

An increase in pressure leads to temporary destructive changes in the retina and vitreous body. Threads, dots or flies in front of the eye, accompanied by sharp spontaneous flashes, signal retinal detachment.

Sometimes the symptom is observed in pubertal patients, which is due to the lower growth rate of smooth muscle fibers of the vascular walls than skeletal muscle tissues.

This difference causes hypoxia in combination with slowed formation of collagen channels in the vitreous cavity of the visual analyzer. The result is optical distortion.

A common cause of myodesopsia is diabetic retinopathy, which is a specific form of angiopathy. The symptom complex progresses against the background of a prolonged course of diabetes mellitus.
The pathological condition disrupts metabolic reactions in the channels and cavities of the vitreous space. Diabetic retinopathy is accompanied by weakness and nausea, aggravated by hypo- or hyperglycemia.

Physical state

Black threads "float" in front of the eyes during exhaustion, excessive stress on the muscular and cardiovascular systems. Such states are characterized by an acceleration of protein metabolism. The vitreous body consists of substances in this category.

The activation of metabolic reactions causes blurred vision. With severe depletion, changes in the trophism in the structure of the fibrillar protein occur, due to nutritional deficiency.

Optical aberrations in the form of black circles before the eyes are common among amateur and professional athletes. Such conditions are characteristic of women adhering to a strict diet for body shaping.

The flickering of black circles, threads or flies before the eyes is a typical symptom of anorexic cachexia - an irreversible degenerative lesion of internal organs. Such manifestations are characteristic of functional insufficiency of the endocrine glands.

Myodesopia treatment methods

The feasibility of a therapeutic intervention is determined on the basis of the results of the initial medical examination, laboratory tests and hardware examinations. If the symptom is idiopathic, no treatment is required.

Visual function is restored naturally. In case of retinal detachment, surgical correction is performed. In other cases, therapy is medication, aimed at eliminating the pathological process or the factor provoking blurred vision.

Age-related destruction of the eye organ is associated with degradation and atrophy of biological tissues, an increase in fragility of blood vessels, denaturation of specific lens protein, other pathological manifestations.

In most cases, the disorder cannot be corrected. Elderly patients are prescribed sedatives and provide psychological assistance. Myodesopia caused by ophthalmic pathologies is eliminated taking into account the etiological factor that has been clarified.

The complex of therapeutic measures includes:

1. Restoration of functionality and biochemical composition of the vitreous filler. They use preparations based on artificial collagen, glycine, L-cysteine. Vitamin drugs containing ascorbic acid and silicon are introduced into complex drug therapy.
2. Correction of detached retina. The anatomical fit of the shell is provided by laser intervention. Additionally, medications are prescribed to lower the concentration of cholesterol in the blood.
3. Removal of cataracts. The clouded lens is replaced with an implant.
4. Suppression of infectious and parasitic pathogens. Antibiotics, anthelmintics, or fungicides are prescribed.

Vascular disorders and hemodynamic dysfunctions are eliminated by selective inhibitors of adrenergic receptors, proteolytic and venotonic agents.

Additionally, according to indications, the following are introduced into the complex therapy:

• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
• diuretic drugs;
• vasodilator tablets;
• decongestants;
• muscle relaxants;
• vitamins of groups A and B.

The therapeutic effect is aimed at eliminating the provoking factor or reducing the symptomatic manifestations of the disorder.

When is a visit to the doctor obligatory?

Myodesopsia does not always pose a threat to health. With a short-term optical effect without a decrease in visual acuity, there is no cause for concern. If a symptom manifests itself against the background of a diagnosed systemic pathology, severe complications may develop.

You should visit an ophthalmologist or general practitioner if the visual effect does not disappear within 3 days. If black threads, flies, or other objects float in front of the eyes after a head injury or other injury, it is necessary to undergo a diagnosis. Anxiety is inspired by a symptom accompanied by lethargy and drowsiness.

Video about black flies in front of the eyes

How to get rid of floating flies in front of your eyes: