EARLY WARNING OF RETINAL DETACHMENT
April 2nd, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: General healthNo Comments
By knowing about the first signs of retinal detachment, we greatly improve our chances of getting early enough treatment to prevent blindness. The most important signs include the sudden appearance of “floaters” (small shadowy shapes like flies or spider webs constantly dangling in our field of vision no matter where we look) and spontaneous flickers or flashes of light (like fireflies or sheet lightning) which are most noticeable in the evening and in the morning before daylight. As more and more retina becomes detached, a growing curtain of darkness seems to surround the things one looks at and which one can still see clearly.
Tragically, because the center of the retina is usually the last part to become detached, the ability to read and watch TV, etc., is preserved intact until the last moment before total blindness occurs. This misleads people into believing that their symptoms are not serious. According to Geriatrics (365#4:87), retinal detachment is most likely to occur in people with myopia (nearsightedness), high blood pressure, or diabetes.
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