WHAT IS FLOATING IN OUR VISION?

Have you ever looked up at the blue sky and seen a translucent blob or anything wormlike swimming in your line of vision? If your response is affirmative, you shouldn't be concerned because everybody experiences this at least once in their lifetime . You are actually experiencing the Blue Field Entopic Phenomena , commonly known as "Blue sky sprites", a widespread occurrence. 

 

What you truly see is the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of your eyes, which is illuminated by tiny moving windows. White blood cells (WBC) passing through the capillaries along the surface of your retina are what generate these windows. These WBCs, or leukocytes, can grow to such size that they almost completely fill the capillaries, causing a plasma gap to form in front of them. Wherever this occurs, you will notice a moving dot of light because white blood cells and space are both more transparent to blue light than red blood cells found in capillaries.It can appear as a dark tail trailing the dot in the right viewing circumstances. The red blood cells (RBC) are grouped together behind the leukocyte.

 

Some science museums include a display that consists of a blue light screen that allows visitors to see blue sky sprites much more clearly than one would typically see. Although these impacts are experienced by everyone's eyes, they differ widely in quantity and kind.

 

Similar to the blue sky sprites, another visual phenomenon known as "Floaters" also occurs. The latin term "flying flies" (Muscae volitantes) is used to describe these items in science. They do not, however, exist outside of your eyeball and are not living insects or any other form of external thing. The retina is shadowed by these tiny objects. These typically consist of tissue fragments, red blood cells, or protein clumps suspended in vitreous humour, the gel-like substance that fills the interior of your eyes. Floaters follow the movement of your eyes and appear to bounce slightly when you stop moving them. They primarily become apparent when they are nearer the retina.Floaters are also more noticeable when you are staring at a bright, uniform surface, such as a white piece of paper, snow, a clear sky, or a computer screen. They are really simpler to distinguish because of the background's constancy.

 

 In case of floaters, they often go unnoticed as our brain learns to ignore them. However, abnormally numerous or large floaters that interfere with vision may be a sign of a more serious condition which needs immediate medical treatment. Sometimes floaters can be a sign of detachment of vitreous from the retina, blood vessel problems, bleeding, inflammation, injury etc. People are more likely to experience floaters when they age.

 

In the end, entopic occurrences, like floaters and blue sky sprite, are mostly just a gentle reminder that what we perceive depends just as much on our biology and minds as it does on the outside world.

 References:

1. Blue field entopic phenomenon, Wikipedia

Link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_field_entoptic_phenomenon

2. Floater, Wikipedia

Link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floater

3. Answers to Five of the Most Common Questions about Eye Floaters

Link: https://www.arizonaretinalspecialists.com/blog/answers-to-five-of-the-most-common-questions-about-eye-floaters/