Almost everyone gets occasional specks in front of their eyes. These specks are known as eye floaters and are especially common when looking directly at a light background, or when feeling light-headed. What Causes Eye Floaters? Floaters are little specks of debris floating through the vitreous fluid in the eyeball. Sometimes people may momentarily confuse them with dust or tiny insects floating across in front of the eye. However, they are within the eyeball and are not eliminated by rubbing the front of the eye. Floaters occur within the vitreous fluid of the eyeball. Floaters in the eye may cause big damage if not concerned or treated quickly. Specks in front of the eyes are normally clearly visible when looking into a light background.