What is the cause of eye floaters?

Eye tissue renewal: Most floaters are fragments of the normal renewal process in the back of the eye with an occasional fragment getting out of the normal clean up channels and appearing in the visual axis. This is more common with changes in the vitreous composition in older age. We get concerned when there are many floaters at once especially if accompanied by vision loss or light flashing.

Floaters cause: Floaters arise when the vitreous gel inside the eye liquefies naturally with age and sometimes earlier in life due to trauma, inflammation, or even high myopia. The floaters may consist of protein precipitates. Though the vitreous gel inside the eye is clear, it is composed of a complex matrix of collagen proteins that undergo changes. The vitreous can become cloudy just like the lens.

Aging, mostly: Most of the time floaters appear as a natural consequence of getting older, like seeing the first wrinkle in your forehead. If, however you see floaters that weren't there before, or if you have flashes of light in the periphery of your vision, it's best to get checked out asap by an eye md (ophthalmologist) to rule out retinal tears, which can lead to (vision-threatening) retinal detachments.