Simply looking at a blue sky or a bright white screen often makes “things” appear in front of your eyes. On one hand, there are those with an amoeba-like shape, and then there are points of light darting at full speed. There’s no optical illusion here: both phenomena have been properly identified and are much more common than we think, though an excessive and sudden manifestation could be a sign of a vision problem.
Anyone who spends several hours a day in front of a screen knows what “tired eyes” feels like: pain or pressure behind the eyes, the sensation of trapped sand, the need to close the eyelids or seek a dark place. Those are occupational hazards, so to speak.
But our eyes don’t only express themselves when under stress; they can give rise to quite striking events. For example, a battalion of bacteria when looking at the sky, or sperm on steroids that never stop running. What’s going on? Where do these things come from?
What “Floats” Inside Your Eyes
First, we should talk about muscae volitantes, Latin for “flying flies,” or simply “floaters.” These are small opacities that float in the vitreous humor of the eye and cast shadows on the retina. They are made up of proteins, red blood cells, or tiny bits of tissue, and they change position with eye movement.
The closer they are to the retina, the better we can see them, thanks to a sharper shadow. In the vast majority of cases, the presence of floaters responds to natural aging and has no consequences, but if their number increases considerably and suddenly, it’s recommended to schedule a visit with the ophthalmologist.
As for the points of light that seem to be racing a Grand Prix, their official name is the “Blue Field Entoptic Phenomenon”, also known as Scheerer’s Phenomenon. In short, the bright dots are white blood cells moving through the capillaries in the retina.
White blood cells occupy nearly the entire diameter of a capillary, creating a tail of red blood cells behind, which under ideal conditions we can perceive with a darker tone. Even knowing the origin of both phenomena, they never lose their surprise factor.
