2023-07-29 04:05:00
Certain diseases, but also an unhealthy lifestyle, increase the risk of retinal diseases of the eye. What you can do about it.
The most important things at a glance
A disease of the retina can manifest itself in different forms. In many cases, the symptoms only appear at an advanced stage. If this causes permanent damage to the retina, there is a risk of blindness in the worst case.
Nevertheless, there are things you can do yourself to minimize risks and prevent damage.
What is the job of the retina?
The retina, in Latin retina, lines the back wall of the eyeball. Everything we see passes through the lens of the eye to the retina and is imaged there. In this way it enables us to see.
In detail: The light-sensitive cells in the retina convert the received stimuli, such as colors and brightness, into electrical signals and send them to the brain. The brain receives the signals and processes them. In the center of the retina is the macula, Latin macula lutea, the place of sharpest vision.
On top of the macula, also known as the yellow spot, is a tiny depression: the fovea. Thanks to this depression, in which the highest concentration of sensory cells in the retina is found, we can also perceive the smallest details. The macula and fovea are the most important parts of the retina. We see less clearly with the rest of the retina. The stimuli that arrive there and are passed on to the brain as signals are more for orientation.
The symptoms of a retinal detachment
Vision is not possible without a healthy retina. For example, if the retina detaches, there is a risk of blindness if an ophthalmologist does not treat it quickly. Symptoms of a retinal detachment include:
Distorted visionField of visionFlashes of lightSo-called soot rain (black dots and flakes)
This means that those affected often first perceive flashes of light, black dots and flakes in front of their eyes, followed by increasing visual field defects.
The soot rain is caused by bleeding into the inside of the eye, the so-called vitreous body, caused by tears in the retinal vessels. The flashes of light are caused by the tensile forces that act on the retina from the vitreous body.
Retinal detachment – these are the causes
There are several medical conditions associated with an increased risk of retinal damage, including:
Diabetes mellitus Severe myopia Eye vein thrombosis
1. Diabetic retinopathy caused by diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is considered an important risk factor for damage to the retina. If the blood sugar level is permanently too high, the fine blood vessels in the retina are attacked. They lose elasticity and become brittle. Vessel bulges and minor bleeding may occur.
Deposits can also form, which clog the vessels. The insidious thing is that those affected do not initially notice any of these changes in the eye. Symptoms only appear in the advanced stages of the disease, such as impaired visual acuity, a disturbed sense of color, distorted or blurred vision and reading difficulties.
If larger areas of the retina are poorly supplied with blood, new malformed blood vessels can form in the late stages of the disease – from which it can bleed and which lead to scarring. The pull on the retina can become so great that it partially or completely detaches from the back of the eye. Then symptoms of retinal detachment appear. If diabetic retinopathy is not recognized until late, severe impairment of vision and even blindness can result.
Regular check-ups for diabetic patients
Changes in the retina are among the most common vascular complications of diabetes: “Even if the ‘diabetes’ is controlled correctly, this certainly reduces the risk of secondary retinal damage, but diabetic retinal damage can still occur and cannot be prevented with certainty,” says Dr. Georg Spital, retina expert at the Eye Center at St. Franziskus Hospital in Münster.
“The occurrence of retinal damage also becomes more likely with increasing disease duration. A regular ophthalmological examination with dilation of the pupil to examine the retina is therefore urgently recommended for people with healthy vision and is recommended at least once a year for most of those affected.”
If diabetes-related retinal changes are already known, visual disturbances occur or there are special situations with an increased risk of diabetic retinal damage, such as phases of blood sugar readjustment or pregnancy, shorter-term checks are recommended, according to the experts. “The good news is that the ophthalmologist now has many treatment options and a visual impairment due to diabetes is usually avoidable,” says Spital.
1690604737
#tips #prevent #diseases