What are the so-called "flies"?
Little dots that sometimes we see moving in front of our eyes are called flies. They occur when you look onto the monochrome or continuous background, like blank wall or blue sky. This phenomenon was already known by Romans and they started calling them flying flies (muscae volitantes).

Flies are concretions that form in the vitreous humor of the eye. Vitreous humor is a transparent gel-like mass that fills in the internal socket of the eye.

Flies are moving in the mass of the internal socket of the eye and you can see them as shadows that form under the impact of the sensitivity of the light of retina in front of the eye (retina is the sensitive internal layer of the light of the eye).

Usually people are very disturbed by the occurrence of flies in the form of little dots, circles, lines or spider webs, especially in cases, if they form suddenly; but in most cases this phenomenon is insignificant and indicates normal aging process of the eye.

The gel-like mass of the vitreous humor shrink with time; detaches from the retina and causes flying effect of flies. This phenomenon can be frequently observed in case of myopia or after cataract surgery.

Are "flies" dangerous?
When the mass of the vitreous body separates from retina, it can get torn in certain cases, sometimes causing slight bleeding inside the eye that is observed in the form of occurring of the new group of flies. If this rupture turns into ablation (detachment), then condition becomes serious. Rarer are cases when flies occur as a result of the inflammation of the eye or in the mass of the vitreous body by forming crystal-like sediments.

Only ophthalmic doctor who will examine your eyes and evaluate the degree of risk caused by the occurrence of new group of "flies" or sudden lightening can determine how serious the occurrence of „flies is.

How "flies" affect the vision?
Flies can hinder sharpness of vision, especially when reading, and can be very irritating. If flies occur directly onto your visual line, then best help is exercises for eyes by rolling them. These eye exercises moves mass of the vitreous humor of the eye and fly moves to another place. Most frequently we are accustomed of moving our eyes to the right and to the left but when you move your eyes up and down completely different movement of the eye occur that could be the best help for directing the "flies" from the vision line.

What are the reasons of lightning?
Gel-like mass of the vitreous humor that fills in socket of the eye sometimes "drags or pulls" the retina. This "dragging" causes lightning effect, though it does not actually happen. The same feelings sometimes occur when someone hits you in the eye; as a result you see the so-called "stars". With intervals lightning can occur for several weeks when the mass of the vitreous humor detaches from the retina. It is a usual aging process of the eye and there is no need to worry. In very rare cases lightning is caused by a large number of new "flies" that even covers part of the field of vision. If it happens you have to immediately visit the ophthalmic doctor to determine whether rupture or detachment of the retina have not occurred. Lightning that manifests itself in the form of ragged or wavy lines and lasts for 10-20 minutes can be caused by the spasms of the blood vessels in brain. In these cases headache can follow, or vice versa - headache can come before the lightning.

What you should do?
Is a visit to the ophthalmic doctor needed in case of "flies" or lightning? Usually "flies" or lightning is not an indication of the serious damage of the eye. You should visit ophthalmic doctor if number of "flies" significantly increases after a certain period of time and condition becomes worse. In this case ophthalmic doctor will carefully test the retina and mass of the vitreous humor.