Are you experiencing hazy vision or are you bothered by floating specks? These are symptoms of a detached retina which needs immediate attention from your doctor. If not attended to right away, then this condition can lead to blindness.
In order to properly function, the retina should receive oxygen and nutrients from the blood vessels underneath. When it separates from the blood vessels, the condition is called retinal detachment. In the United States alone, approximately 20,000 people annually suffer from retinal detachment. It is the result of an eye injury, cataract surgery, or an extreme case of nearsightedness.
Men are more prone to having this condition than their female counterparts and its onset is higher in people with eye tumor and hypertension. Genetics also play a crucial factor in the development of the condition as it has the tendency to run in families. Doctors characterize it as a medical emergency which requires immediate surgery because it could lead to the permanent loss of vision in the affected eye.
Although the condition is painless, detached retina symptoms manifest themselves prior to the detachment. It involves the shrinking and sagging of the vitreous fluid within the eyeballs. The tugging of the retina results to the sensation of flashing images. When strong enough, this may cause the retinal tear and consequently damage the small blood vessels paving the way for blood to seep into the vitreous.
Whether or not surgical procedures will help is determined by the condition of the patient. For example, if there is only retinal tearing but no detachment from the blood vessels below is involved, laser treatment or photocoagulation can undo the damage. Likewise, performing cryopexy, which involves application of cold temperature to produce a scar which holds the retina in place, can also repair the damaged retina.
Surgical procedures are only resorted to when there is detachment of the retina. The treatment should be performed at once because rods and cones die when detached from their source of nourishment for an extended period of time. This could lead to permanent blindness and nothing can bring back the loss vision.
Detached retina symptoms are usually treated using one of three surgical methods, some of which are integrated with photocoagulation or cryopexy. These surgical procedures are designed to close retinal holes or tears in order to minimize the tugging of the retina from a shrinking vitreous. The kind of procedure to be recommended by the surgeon is dependent on the kind, size, and position of the detached retina. These procedures can successfully treat over 90 percent of retinal detachment patients although another treatment is sometimes needed.