Can vitreous thinning/degeneration manifest as color spots or flashes in vision?

[Noelle77]

Are there different types of floaters besides black and clear? Like purple spots, etc, caused by vitreous liquefying?

[Sandra M Brown, MD]

Floaters are little bits of condensed vitreous floating in otherwise liquefied vitreous.  They are perceived as black because they block light and cast black shadows on the retina.  If you are seeing purple spots, I would suggest an examination by an Eye MD to be sure that nothing is pulling on your retina, which is another cause of "seeing things that aren't there".  You can find one near you by looking on www.aao.org.

[Noelle77]

Thank you. I recently saw two eye doctors for dilated exams, including in the eye hospital and was told there was nothing wrong, except minor vitreous changes, thinning...I'm baffled by this.

[melinda68]

Are the spots you are seeing stationary relative to your point of fixation or do they float around? are they temporary or permanent?
i think i may have something similar ...

[Noelle77]

I am finding that alot of people here have these sorts of eye things with no explanations. I actually have many kinds of these spots in my vision. Mostly, they drift by during the day, sometimes they shimmer, and sometimes they stay ' stuck' for a while. They are many different colors and happen so randomly.