by Erich Rosenberger M.D.

Created on: March 30, 2008

Retinal detachment is a serious condition of the eye which can lead to blindness. The receptors that sense light in your eye are located near the back of the eye in an area called the retina. The tissues of the retina pick up light, process the signals and send them along to the brain. Under certain conditions, the retina can detach from the back of the eye. This causes a short circuit in the light signal, leading to blindness or partial loss of vision.

What are the symptoms of retinal detachment?

Retinal detachment has very specific symptoms related to your vision. A person will begin to experience bright flashes of light in their field of vision. This usually happens in only one eye, although it is very possible to experience it in both eyes simultaneously.

Floating spots are a common symptom of retinal detachment, and often accompany the flashes of light. Visual acuity will drop, making a persons vision blurry. These symptoms can come on quite quickly, or they can develop over a period of time. There is generally no pain associated with retinal detachment.

What are the causes and risks of retinal detachment?

There are certain risk factors for developing retinal detachment. Injuries to the eye are some of the most common causes of detachment. These injuries can come in the form of direct trauma to the eye, or damage to the head which causes the eye to be harmed as well. For example, getting hit very hard in the head can cause the retina to separate from the rest of eye.

As a person gets older, the risk of retinal detachment increases. All tissues in your body become more prone to damage as you age, and the eye is no exception. There is some evidence that retinal detachment may have an inherited risk pattern. This means that you are more likely to have this problem if one of your parents did as well.

People with diabetes are at increased risk for retinal detachment. Diabetes can damage many parts of your body, but it is particularly harmful to the tiny arteries and structures of the eye. If the retina does not receive good blood flow, it may be more likely to detach. This is what happens in diabetics.

If you have vascular disease, you may be at increased risk of retinal detachment. Some types of eye surgery can lead to retinal detachment as a complication. Lastly, there is are some cases of tumors causing the retina to detach, although this is not as common as most of the other causes.

What can you do to limit your risk?

Not much can be done to prevent retinal detachment,

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