What eye diseases are associated with eye floaters?
Eye floaters are associated with the retinopathy of diabetes, retinal tears, retinal detachment, and large degrees of nearsightedness. They occur more commonly in people who have had injury to the eyes, surgery to remove cataracts, or YAG laser surgery after cataract surgery. Tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, syphilis, and toxoplasmosis of the eye are other diseases that are associated with eye floaters. An unusual ocular condition called asteroid hyalosis is also a cause of eye floaters. Primary or secondary tumors in the eye, including lymphoma and leukemia, are associated with eye floaters, but these are extremely rare. What are the risk factors for developing eye floaters? Being nearsighted (myopic) is a risk factor for eye floaters occurring earlier in life. The process of vitreous syneresis is accelerated in eyes that are highly myopic, and posterior vitreous detachments occur at a younger age in people who are significantly nearsighted. Diabetes is a risk factor for the development of