A detached retina is when the retina lifts away from the back of the eye. The retina does not work when it is detached, making vision blurry. A detached retina is a serious problem. You must have it treated right away or you could lose sight in that eye.
Detached Retina Symptoms:
- Seeing flashing lights all of a sudden. Some people say this is like seeing stars after being hit in the eye.
- Noticing many new floaters at once. These can look like specks, lines or cobwebs in your field of vision.
- A shadow appearing in your peripheral (side) vision.
- A gray curtain covering part of your field of vision.
Detached Retina Causes:
You are most likely to have detached retina if you:
- need glasses to see far away (are nearsighted)
- have had cataract surgery
- have glaucoma (a disease affecting pressure inside the eye)
- had a serious eye injury
- had a retinal tear or detachment in your other eye
- have family members who had retinal detachment
- have weak areas in your retina (seen by an eye doctor during an exam)
- blocked blood vessels in the retina (called retinal vein occlusion)
- uveitis (when the layer of the eyeball under the white of the eye is swollen)
- an eye injury
- CME in the other eye
- diabetes, or if you take certain medicines for glaucoma or diabetes, or take niacin (vitamin B3)
- cataract surgery or other eye surgery. About 30% who have had eye surgery get CME later.
Detached Retina Treatments:
The only way to treat a detached retina is with surgery. Here are some types of surgery to fix a detached retina:
- Pneumatic retinopexy: Your ophthalmologist puts a gas bubble inside your eye which pushes the retina into place so it can heal properly.
- Vitrectomy: Your ophthalmologist removes the vitreous pulling on the retina. The vitreous will be replaced with a gas or oil bubble
- Scleral buckle: A band of rubber or soft plastic is sewn to the outside of your eyeball. It gently presses the eye inward which helps the detached retina heal against the eye wall.
Call to schedule an appointment today 1-800-575-4314.