Experiencing eye pain in general is indicative of several eye conditions and injuries that need the attention of a medical professional. Amongst the many conditions that can cause this, a retinal tear or a retinal detachment can also be potential injuries that affect your eye health. There lies a key difference that separates the two eye injuries from one another, all of which have been elaborated upon below for your understanding.
All About Retinal Tears
Retina is a thin light sensitive tissue present at the back of the eye that helps in the formation of images. A tear in the retina can occur due to a detachment that occurs as we age between the retina and other parts of the eye. This tear can also be caused by certain injuries where the tissue breaks away and causes complications that can be harmful to the functions and working of the eye. Although it is not always possible to recognize and diagnose retina tears at first glance, age, trauma, genetics nearsightedness and past surgeries can prove to be risk factors.
Several tests using a scleral depression can be conducted to help diagnose the tear when symptoms such as black spots, floaters or even bright flashes of light can be seen and experienced. At times, bleeding can also occur in the eye cavity or even a complete detachment can provide additional symptoms through which the retinal tear can be identified. It can be treated using laser eye surgeries and cryotherapy that essentially freezes the tissue and allows for further procedures to be carried out.
A Close Look At Retinal Detachments
Retinal detachments are very common in their symptoms, diagnosis as well as treatment methods to retinal tears. Most often, when retinal tears go untreated, the entire retina gets detached from adjacent eye structures which can lead to complete loss of vision. Retinal detachments can be diagnosed with similar symptoms such as darkened vision, light flashes, floaters or a reduced vision capacity persisting for long. It must be treated immediately to avoid any dire consequences from occurring. There are several risk factors that can be recognized such as lattice degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and post vitreous detachment along with the other aspects accounted for by retinal tears.
Lattice degeneration is when the retina gets thinner with time, making it susceptible to complications such as a retinal detachment. Diabetic retinopathy occurs when high blood glucose levels damage the blood vessels that surround the retina and can lead to a possible detachment. Similar treatment can be used for retinal detachment as are used for retinal tears in addition to vitrectomy where the larger tears can be surgically operated upon. A scleral buckle can also be installed at an eye clinic which is a permanent insertion that helps the tear to heal naturally by pushing the tear closer.
Key Differences
The key differences between the two types of retinal injuries lie in the causes that lead to such severe consequences. For retinal tears, there are certain risk factors that are recognised that can lead to the tear occurring besides the detachment. However, for retinal detachments, besides a retinal tear leading to further damage, uncontrolled or diabetes that goes unnoticed for long can also cause. The scar tissue around the tear can pull away the retina altogether when the blood vessels around and in the retina get damaged by high levels of blood glucose.
Besides the causes, there are a large variety of treatments available for retinal detachments given the greater extent of damage done in each case. Furthermore, retinal detachments to a certain degree can be prevented if your health and lifestyle are well cared for from the very beginning. Measures to avoid the onset of diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity among many other chronic ailments must be taken for prevention.
If you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above, book an appointment with one of our eye specialists at Ebsaar Eye Surgery Center and begin your treatment today.