The Most Common Retinal Diseases

The retina is what lets us visualize objects when the light hits the back of the eye to create images. And, when this important tissue is affected, it causes lots of problems, wherein it becomes difficult to read, drive, and see fine details. In fact, if it is severely affected, it can even make a person blind! This makes it very crucial that we take utmost care of our eyes, and especially our retina. While there is nothing special that you can do to take care of it, you could always make an effort to have your eyes checked frequently at regular intervals at an eye checkup clinic in Oshiwara Mumbai. The most common retinal diseases encountered by people across the globe include floaters, retinal detachment, diabetic eye disease, macular degeneration, and retinitis pigmentosa. Here, you can learn about each of these in detail.

Floaters

Floaters have you to notice spots floating around across your vision. It may make you feel that something is floating around in your eyes, which is why you may rub your eyes thinking that it may go away, but there is nothing that has entered your eye, it is something that is happening at the back of your eyes in the retina. There is a gel-like substance in the back of the eye, known as the vitreous. As we age, the protein fibers that make up the vitreous shrink down to form small clumps. These clumps cast shadows on the retina, which we see has random substances floating around in our eyes. While this is normal with growing age, it can affect anyone at any time, which when encountered, must be checked by a doctor.

Retinal Detachment

As the name itself suggests, retinal detachment is when there is a detachment experienced in the retina. Just like in floaters, when the fluid clumps together, it gets separated from the retina; similarly, retinal detachment is when the retina itself starts separating from the underneath layer. This is a very severe problem as compared to floaters. However, floaters can be a reason for this disorder. Other factors that can cause retinal detachment include extreme nearsightedness, previous retinal detachment in the other eye, presence of other eye disorders, eye injury, or previous cataract surgery. If not treated, it can cause permanent vision loss!

Diabetic Eye Disease

As the name itself clearly says, diabetic eye disease is the eye problems that a diabetic patient can experience. Those with diabetes are more susceptible to experience retinal damage and disorders, as they cannot have their eyes healed as much. So, even a small issue can lead to bigger problems. Diabetic eye diseases include diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, cataract, and glaucoma. All forms of diabetic eye diseases can cause severe vision loss and blindness, as they cause changes to retinal blood vessels that can cause them to bleed or leak fluid, thus distorting vision. The symptoms include blurred vision, floaters, dark spots, double vision, flashing lights, and pain in the eyes.

Macular Degeneration

This is a common issue seen as people age, where central vision loss is caused. It occurs when the small central portion of the retina deteriorates. The symptoms include blurred central vision, difficulty focusing on details, and observing warped straight lines. As the condition worsens, it may even cause blind spots.

Retinitis Pigmentosa

This is a chronic hereditary eye disease that is characterized by black pigmentation and gradual degeneration of the retina. The rods are first affected, and then the degeneration moves to the cones. Vision is gradually lost as the rods and cones die. The symptoms include colour blindness, central vision loss, and night blindness. Various conditions classified under this kind of disorder include Leber’s congenital amaurosis, Usher syndrome, Bardet-Biedel syndrome, rod-cone disease, and Refsum disease.

In case of any such symptoms, or any other eye or retinal diseases that you experience, get in touch immediately with an eye specialist in Andheri West, one like Arohi Eye Hospital, the most reputed and reliable eye hospital in the state.