Seeing spots in your vision is often caused by harmless “floaters,” but in some cases it can signal an eye emergency that needs urgent care. If your spots are new, suddenly worse, or come with flashes of light or vision loss, you should get emergency medical help the same day.

What “spots” in vision usually are

Many people describing “why am I seeing spots in my vision” are actually noticing floaters : tiny shadows drifting across what you see. Common features of floaters:

  • Look like dots, specks, threads, rings, or cobwebs that drift when you move your eyes
  • Most noticeable against bright, plain backgrounds (sky, white wall, phone screen)
  • Often more common with age, nearsightedness, or after eye surgery

Physically, floaters often come from tiny clumps in the gel inside the eye (the vitreous). These clumps cast shadows on the retina, which you perceive as moving spots. This process becomes more common after age 50 as the gel liquefies and shrinks.

When spots are usually harmless

Spots are more likely to be benign when:

  • You’ve had a few for a long time and they haven’t changed
  • They move around but don’t block your central vision
  • There are no flashes of light, “curtain” over vision, eye pain, or trauma history

In many people, the brain gradually “tunes out” stable floaters so they become less noticeable over time. Observation and routine eye exams are often all that is needed when the cause is typical age‑related changes and your vision is otherwise fine.

Red‑flag symptoms: get urgent help

Spots can sometimes mean a serious problem such as a retinal tear, retinal detachment, or bleeding in the eye. These conditions can cause permanent vision loss if not treated quickly.

Seek emergency care (ER or urgent eye doctor) immediately if you notice:

  1. Sudden shower of new spots or floaters, especially in one eye
  2. Flashes of light (like lightning streaks, camera flashes, or “seeing stars”)
  3. A dark shadow, curtain, or gray veil moving across part of your vision
  4. Sudden drop in vision, blurry or missing areas
  5. Eye trauma (hit in the eye, fall, accident) followed by spots or flashes
  6. Spots plus diabetes, very high blood pressure, or recent eye surgery/injection

These symptoms can indicate:

  • Retinal tear or detachment : when the retina pulls away from the back of the eye
  • Vitreous hemorrhage : bleeding into the eye from damaged retinal blood vessels
  • Inflammation (uveitis) at the back of the eye adding debris into the vitreous

All of these are time‑sensitive; hours to days can matter for saving vision.

Other possible causes of seeing spots

While floaters are the classic cause, people asking “why am I seeing spots in my vision” online may be describing a few different things:

  • Age‑related vitreous changes : Most common; the gel shrinks and clumps, creating floaters.
  • Inflammation (posterior uveitis) : Autoimmune disease or infection can release cells into the vitreous, appearing as moving spots and haze.
  • Bleeding in the eye : From diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure, retinal vein occlusion, or trauma; blood cells look like many dark specks or cobwebs.
  • Migraine aura : Some people see shimmering spots, zigzags, or “sparkles,” sometimes even without a headache (ocular/visual migraine).
  • Medications or surgery : Certain eye injections or surgeries can leave temporary bubbles or changes that appear as spots.

Online forum discussions and recent posts (2024–2025) also show many people linking new floaters to long screen time, stress, or poor sleep, but these are usually triggers for noticing existing floaters rather than the root cause itself. The underlying eye structures are usually the real driver.

What an eye doctor will usually do

If you go in asking “why am I seeing spots in my vision,” expect:

  1. History questions
    • When it started, which eye, any flashes, trauma, headaches, health conditions (like diabetes or high blood pressure), medications, and recent surgery.
  1. Dilated eye exam
    • Eye drops to widen the pupil so they can look at the vitreous and retina with bright lights and special lenses. This is key to ruling out retinal tears or detachment.
  1. Possible imaging
    • Optical coherence tomography (OCT) or ultrasound if the view is cloudy (for example, due to bleeding) to check the retina’s status.

Common treatments and what happens next

Treatment depends entirely on the cause:

  • Simple age‑related floaters
    • Often no procedure; just monitoring, maybe lifestyle advice (regular exams, controlling health conditions).
    • If floaters are extremely dense and disabling, some centers offer laser treatment or surgery (vitrectomy), but this is reserved for select cases because it has risks.
  • Retinal tear or detachment
    • Laser or freezing (cryotherapy) can seal a tear if caught early.
    • Detachments may require urgent surgery (like vitrectomy, scleral buckle, or gas bubble) to reattach the retina.
  • Bleeding in the eye
    • Treat the underlying cause (e.g., diabetic retinopathy) and sometimes use injections or surgery. Blood may slowly clear on its own in mild cases.
  • Inflammation (uveitis)
    • Steroid drops, injections, or systemic treatment plus investigation for infections or autoimmune disease.
  • Migraine aura
    • Neurological evaluation if new or atypical, migraine management, and red‑flag screening to be sure it isn’t a retinal issue.

Quick personal checklist (not a diagnosis)

Use this as a rough guide while you wait to see a professional:

  • Long‑standing, few floaters, no flashes, no vision loss → Often benign, still worth mentioning at your next routine eye exam.
  • New or suddenly many spots, especially with light flashes or a curtain in vision → Treat as urgent; same‑day eye emergency care.
  • Spots plus eye trauma, diabetes, or high blood pressure → Do not wait; get checked quickly.
  • Shimmering or zigzag spots lasting 20–30 minutes then resolving, sometimes with headache → Could be migraine aura but still discuss with a doctor, especially if new.

Important note

I can’t give you a diagnosis or safely rule out serious conditions through text alone. Because vision is at stake, if your spots are new, worsening, or in any way worrying, please arrange an urgent in‑person eye exam or go to emergency care today.