The Symptoms Of Retinal Detachment | HealthInfi

Retinal detachment describes an emergency situation in which a thin layer of tissue (the retina) at the back of the eye pulls away from its normal position. Retinal detachment separates the retinal cells from the layer of blood vessels that provides oxygen and nourishment. The longer retinal detachment goes untreated, the greater your risk of permanent vision loss in the affected eye.

Warning signs of retinal detachment include the sudden appearance of floaters and flashes and reduced vision. Contacting an eye specialist (ophthalmologist) right away can help save your vision.

I recently had successful emergency laser surgery to prevent a retinal tear and possible retinal detachment, and I’m sharing my experience to help others recognize the symptoms that could save your vision.

Saturday night I started seeing flashes of light that looked like lightning. They popped up on the right side of my field of vision and sort of leaped at a right angle across the top of my sight. Each flash was quick, and the time between flashes varied.

I thought it might be a migraine aura, but I’ve had those in the past, and this seemed different. My auras last precisely 20 to 23 minutes and appear like a tunnel of light. These looked different and continued well beyond 20 minutes.

Because I was riding in the backseat of a car with my younger daughter driving on very dark, unfamiliar, winding rural roads in the rain, I didn’t want to say anything that might add to anyone’s stress. So I alternately closed my eyes to avoid seeing the light and searched on my phone for what could be causing the flashes.

My online searches, using reliable sites like the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, revealed that light flashes are a symptom of a retinal tear or detachment. A retinal detachment can occur when the vitreous, a gel-like fluid inside the eye, leaks through a retinal hole or tear and collects beneath the retina at the back of the eye.

This causes the retina to pull away from the blood vessels that provide it with oxygen and nourishment, resulting in vision loss. Retinal detachment is an emergency because the longer it goes untreated, the greater your risk of vision loss.

The vitreous normally shrinks and detaches as we age and doesn’t cause problems, other than pesky floaters (specks of debris that seem to float through your vision). But, if the vitreous doesn’t detach easily and instead tugs on the retina, it can cause tears. That’s why it’s important to know what to look for to avoid retinal detachment.Read More