Can Dehydration Cause Eye Floaters?
Eye floaters occur primarily as a result of aging. You can see black or gray-colored, speck-like shaped spots in your eye.
According to a study, myopes are 3.5 times more likely, and hyperopes are 4.4 times more likely to report moderate to severe floaters than those with normal vision.
Dehydration occurs when you lose more fluid than you intake, which can hamper the body’s natural functions.
Several researches and studies have proved the relationship between the two.
It’s said that dehydration is one of the causes of eye floaters.
The less water you intake, the more floaters are visible in your eye.
Read on to know why dehydration cause eye floaters.
Why water intake affects eye floaters?
Most eye floaters occur because of a change in the eye’s vitreous humor.
Vitreous humor is a gel-like substance in your eye. It fills up the space between the retina and the lens.
It is made up of 98-99% of water. The rest is collagen, proteins, salt, and sugar.
You can see how much water intake is vital to maintain the vitreous humor healthily.
The effects when your water intake is less
The vitreous humor loses its shape or shrinks when you are regularly dehydrated.
This can lead to the formation of floaters in the eyes. Here, the proteins in the eyes solidify as enough water is not there to dissolve them.
These solid particles are scattered clumps of collagen, of which eye floaters are comprised.
Not only this, if you don’t drink enough water, harmful toxins can build up in the body, resulting in the development of eye floaters.
With a good amount of water intake, the toxins get flushed out, which aids in reducing eye floaters.
Moreover, drinking lots of water improves overall eye health and prevents diseases like dry eye.
Also Read: To know about other causes of eye floaters, read our informative article, “What Causes Eye Floaters: Understanding the Spots in Your Vision“.
How much water should I drink daily?
There have been many rules and calculation methods to determine the ideal amount of water one should drink.
But it mainly depends on weight, exercise, climate, etc.
Also, your water intake may change if you are pregnant or have certain diseases.
According to The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, adequate water intake can be:
- 3.7 liters (125.1 ounces) of fluids a day for men
- 2.7 liters (91.2 ounces) of fluids a day for women
Also Read: Sometimes, eye floaters may not go away despite proper hydration, and treatment is required. Read “Eye Floaters Treatment Options: A Complete Guide” to know the best treatment options.
Takeaway
The bridge between dehydration and floaters is vitreous humor. Most floaters develop because of a change in it.
Vitreous humor comprises 98-99% of water, so drinking an adequate amount of water is necessary.
If you don’t drink enough water, the proteins that make floaters will solidify, resulting in floaters.
