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Check out our Getting Started Kit for more ideas to help you live well with low vision.

Preparing for the visit to your eye care specialist.

Support groups and the adjustment process.

Learn more about ways to find emotional support for you – and your family members – after a diagnosis of blindness or low vision: Says Rocky, “There is no greater reward than watching someone come to our meetings with their head down and then, within a couple of months, watching their head held high with a smile on their face and a new appreciation of life.” Rocky and Jan founded their support group after Rocky’s three retinal detachment surgeries. Paul (Rocky) and Jan Rachow are the founders and facilitators of the Frogtown Low Vision Support Group. Rocky’s Story: The Creation of the Frogtown Low Vision Support Group

Inflammation: Less commonly, some inflammatory eye conditions, called uveitis, can lead to floaters.

Vitreous hemorrhage: In addition to retinal tears, other conditions that result in bleeding into the vitreous, such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy, can produce floaters and decreased vision.

Still, they are more likely to occur in persons who are nearsighted, older, have recently undergone cataract surgery, or have sustained eye trauma. Therefore, it is critical to be evaluated promptly because diagnosing and treating a retinal tear before it results in a retinal detachment can be vision-saving.Īnyone can develop a retinal tear and detachment. While retinal tears usually do not cause vision loss and can be repaired effectively through a non-incisional laser or cold therapy (cryotherapy) procedure in the office without anesthesia, retinal detachments almost always cause vision loss (sometimes, severe vision loss or blindness) and usually involve incisional surgical repairs in an operating room. Retinal tears often lead to retinal detachment. A similar process occurs when a tear is untreated the retina comes off or detaches. If the rip is not repaired, steam from the bathroom shower can get behind the tear eventually, the entire sheet of wallpaper may peel and fall off. To picture how this happens, imagine a rip in the wallpaper in the bathroom. (See the photographs below in retinal tear and retinal detachment treatments to illustrate these processes.)Ī tear in the retina is of great concern because it can extend and allow fluid to enter through the tear and separate the retina from the underlying tissue. This blood called a vitreous hemorrhage, may also produce floaters. As the retina tears, a retinal vessel may be torn or damaged, leaking blood into the vitreous. Therefore, any person with a PVD should have a careful retinal exam to rule out an associated tear. Retinal tear or detachment: In some cases, as the vitreous is peeling away from the retina and detaching, it can pull so hard in areas of firm attachment that it tears the retina.Source: Courtesy Mrinali Patel Gupta, M.D., Shrinking and pulling away (detaching) from the retina. In general, a vitreous detachment is not considered an ocular emergency.Ī posterior vitreous detachment (PVD): the vitreous gel (in blue) Many people develop posterior vitreous detachments and never experience symptoms, whereas others may notice new floaters. This process is called a posterior vitreous detachment, or PVD.

Posterior vitreous detachment (PVD): As the vitreous liquefies, it also shrinks and pulls away from the retina.These strings or strands of vitreous can be perceived as floaters. As individual ages, the jelly-like vitreous becomes more liquefied, and areas of the vitreous can condense and acquire a “stringy” consistency.The optic nerve carries these electrical impulses to the brain, which finally interprets them as visual images. Much like the film of a camera, cells in the retina convert incoming light into electrical impulses. The vitreous is attached to the retina, which is the thin, light-sensitive tissue that lines the inside surface of the eye. Changes in the vitreous: The inside of the back part of the eye is filled with a jelly-like substance called vitreous.Several conditions and changes within the eye can cause floaters. They generally move as the eyes move and are most noticeable against a plain bright background, such as a white or light-colored wall. What Are Floaters?Īs their name implies, floaters are usually small, black shapes that look like spots, squiggles, or threads and “float about” in one’s vision. Floaters, Retinal Tears, and Retinal Detachmentsīy Mrinali Patel Gupta, M.D.

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