Detached Retina Prevention

The retina is the thin sensory tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. Photoreceptors within the retina capture light as it enters the eye and converts the light into impulses that travel via the optic nerve to the brain where they are translated into images. Vitreous is a gel that fills the space within the eyeball, against the retina. A retinal detachment occurs when the retina pulls away from the surrounding tissue, causing the vitreous to pass through the tear and collect in the resulting space. As the liquid collects, the increasing pressure can cause the retina to detach.

Risk Factors

• A retinal detachment can occur at any age, although the risk increases with age. Men are more predisposed to detachments than women. Several factors predispose a person to a retinal detachment. These include:
  -Head or eye injury
  -Eye surgery
  -Family history of retinal detachments
  -Diabetes
  -Nearsightedness or myopia
  -Lattice degeneration
  -Retinal detachment in the other eye

Warning Signs

• Knowing the warning signs and symptoms of a retinal detachment and monitoring for them is one of the best methods of prevention. These signs and symptoms include blurry vision, increase in the number of floaters or spots in the vision, a grey or green curtain descending through the field of vision and/or flashing lights. If you exhibit any of these warning signs of retinal detachment, consult your eye care professional immediately as a retinal detachment is a medical emergency. A retinal detachment not promptly treated can result in vision loss.

Prevention

• If you have any of the risk factors indicated above, scheduling regular dilated eye examinations with your eye care professional is key in prevention. These examinations may be helpful in detecting small tears in the retina that can lead to detachments. A simple procedure for mending retinal tears using a laser or a freezing treatment (cryopexy) can be performed in the ophthalmologist's office to prevent tears from becoming detachments. Early intervention is the best way to prevent retinal detachments. More than 90 percent of cases of retinal detachment are fixable with full vision being restored.

  Wearing protective eyewear or goggles during contact sports or activities when objects may come into contact with the eyes, such as welding or wood-working, is also helpful in preventing retinal detachments. If you are at risk for a retinal detachment, some professionals may recommend that you avoid activities that put undue pressure on the eye such as scuba diving and heavy-lifting.