Black Spots in Your Vision? How To Tell Harmless Eye Floaters From Something More Serious
Most fade within a month, but an eye doctor shares the red flags to watch for
Key Takeaways
- Black spots in vision affect 87% of us—most are benign, but some are urgent.
- Moving floaters are usually benign, but fixed or curtain-like spots can signal serious disease.
- Sudden black spots with flashes or vision loss may require urgent treatment within hours.
You glance up at a blue sky and notice something dark drifting across your view. Or maybe there’s a fixed, shadowy patch that doesn’t move at all. Or perhaps a dark curtain seems to be creeping in from the side. So you Google “black spots in vision”—yet still feel confused. Don’t worry, we’ve got you!
A whopping 87 percent of us experience some form of this visual phenomenon. Most of the time, it’s nothing serious. But in rare cases, it’s a sign you need help within hours—not days. Knowing the difference could put your mind at ease. It could also save your sight, says Benjamin Lin, MD, a vitreoretinal specialist at Texas Retina Associates in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Here’s what Dr. Lin wants every woman over 50 to know.
3 types of black spots in your vision
Dr. Lin says black spots in your vision fall into three distinct categories, and each one tells a different story.
Woman's World Answers
A moving spot
A speck, blob, squiggle or “fly” that drifts or flits across your field of vision when you move your eyes is most likely an eye floater. And while it can be alarming, it’s often benign.
A fixed spot or blank patch
A dark area that stays put no matter where you look is called a scotoma, and it can signal something far more serious, including glaucoma, macular degeneration or even a stroke.
A shadow or curtain
A dark arc or veil that appears to creep across your vision from one side is a potential sign of retinal detachment, for which you need urgent medical attention.
What causes floating black spots in your vision
The most common moving spots, called eye floaters, are actually shadows. They’re cast by tiny clumps of collagen that have condensed in the vitreous gel that fills the inside of a healthy eye. Some are black or dark, others grayish or even transparent. There are a surprising number of things that can cause floaters to develop faster, including extreme nearsightedness, trauma to your eye area and some scary eye conditions.
But most often they’re caused by normal age-related changes to the vitreous gel. “Just as everybody’s skin will wrinkle with time, nearly everybody will get floaters at some point,” says Dr. Lin.
Here’s when eye floaters become urgent: According to the National Eye Institute, a sudden dramatic increase in new floaters (especially if accompanied by flashes of light in one or both eyes) is a crucial warning sign of retinal detachment, a condition in which the retina pulls away from the back of the eye. Dr. Lin warns that depending on the type and location of the detachment, “you may need surgery in 24 to 48 hours to prevent permanent vision loss.”
A large sudden increase in floaters—especially if they appear tinged with red—can be caused by bleeding in the eye from conditions like diabetic retinopathy. This can also threaten vision if not addressed quickly. It’s impossible to know the exact cause of floaters based on the symptoms themselves, so it’s important to get evaluated by an eye doctor as soon as possible if you have a sudden increase in floaters.
What causes fixed black spots in your vision
A black spot that doesn’t move, one that sits stubbornly in the same place in your visual field, is a scotoma—and it deserves prompt medical attention. A scotoma happens when there is damage to the retina or something disrupts the signal between your eye and your brain, Dr. Lin explains.
Here’s why scotomas demand immediate action: Though scotomas can be caused by damage from diabetic retinopathy, retinal scarring and even certain medications, a fixed black patch in your vision that appears suddenly may indicate a stroke in your eye. If the scotoma is very large and accompanied by symptoms like a severe headache, trouble speaking or numbness in your face or limbs, this may point to a stroke in the brain, says Dr. Lin. If you experience this, call 911 immediately. The sooner you seek treatment, the better your outcome is likely to be.
Not sure if it’s an eye floater or scotoma? Dr. Lin says floaters tend to dart away when you try to look directly at them, and they’re usually much more noticeable against a bright background like a white wall or a clear sky.
What causes a sweeping black spot in your vision
If an expanding black or gray “curtain of darkness” is cutting off your peripheral vision, it should send you straight to an eye doctor, per Dr. Lin. It’s a red flag that you may be developing a retinal detachment, something you need to be extra alert for if you’re over 50, have had cataract surgery, are significantly nearsighted or have previously had a retinal detachment.
Here’s why a curtain-like shadow is an emergency: This shadow effect happens when fluid seeps through a retinal tear and lifts the retina away from the back of the eye. Without prompt surgical repair, a detached retina loses part of its blood supply and permanent vision loss can follow, cautions Dr. Lin. Seek immediate medical care.
The bottom line
Here’s the good news: The vast majority of the time, what you’re seeing is totally benign. Plus, now you know exactly what to watch for—and when to act fast. When in doubt, call an eye doctor. And don’t skip those annual dilated eye exams, which can catch problems like diabetic retinopathy before they ever cause floaters. You’re protecting both your vision and your peace of mind.
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