Posterior Vitreous Detachment

The inside of your eye is filled with a clear, gel-like substance called the vitreous. As we age, this gel naturally becomes more liquid and can pull away from the back surface of the eye. This separation is a PVD. It is a very common, age-related event and is not, by itself, dangerous.

Disease

Symptoms

The symptoms are often sudden and can be alarming: New floaters: These look like specks, cobwebs, or little shadows in your vision. They are tiny clumps in the vitreous gel casting shadows. Flashes of light: These brief sparkles or lightning streaks in your side vision are caused by the gel tugging on the retina. Main Risk Factors: Age (most common over 50), nearsightedness (myopia), past eye injury or surgery.

Diagnosis

A comprehensive dilated eye exam is essential. The doctor needs to see all the way to the far edges of your retina to ensure that when the vitreous pulled away, it did not tear the retina. An OCT scan may help get a detailed view.

Treatments

For a simple PVD, no treatment is needed. The floaters and flashes usually become less noticeable over weeks to months as your brain adapts. However, PVD is the first cause of retinal tears. Therefore, the most important "treatment" is knowing the warning signs of a tear: a sudden "shower" of new floaters, a dark curtain or shadow moving across your vision, or a significant increase in flashes. If you notice these, seek immediate care.

More to read

Disease

Cataract

A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural, clear lens. Think of it as a clear window that slowly becomes frosted. This clouding scatters light, preventing a sharp image from reaching the retina. It is most commonly related to aging. However, some forms of congenital cataract are seen in children.

Disease

Refractive Error

Refractive error means that your eye does not focus light ideally onto the retina, resulting in a blurred image on the retina. This condition is not a disease, but a common problem with light focusing. Its main types include myopia (nearsightedness: nearby objects are clear while distant objects appear blurry), hyperopia (farsightedness: distance vision may be clearer than near vision), and astigmatism (vision is blurry at all distances due to an irregularly shaped cornea).

Disease

Night Blindness

Night blindness is a symptom, not a disease. It means your eyes have trouble adapting to low light. This is often due to a problem with the rod cells in your retina, which are responsible for night and peripheral vision.

Disease

Color Blindness

Most color blindness is not complete blindness to color, but a difficulty telling certain colors apart. It is usually an inherited condition (more common in males) present from birth. It happens when certain light-sensitive cone cells in your retina don't work properly. The most common type is trouble distinguishing reds from greens.

Disease

Retinopathy of Prematurity

ROP is a disease that affects premature infants. In the womb, the retinal blood vessels grow late in pregnancy. When a baby is born very early, this normal growth is interrupted. After birth, abnormal, fragile blood vessels may begin to grow in the retina. These vessels can leak and scar, potentially pulling the retina off (detachment).

Disease

Retinal Detachment

A retinal detachment is a medical emergency. It occurs when the retina peels away from the back wall of the eye, like wallpaper bubbling off a wall. When detached, the retina cannot function, leading to vision loss.