Detached Retina

In many cases, the more risk factors a person has, the higher the risk of retinal detachment. For example, a very nearsighted person who also undergoes cataract surgery probably will have a higher risk of retinal detachment than someone who has cataract surgery and is not nearsighted. Overall, the risk of retinal detachment increases the older you get, and men are about 50% more likely to develop the problem than women.

People with diabetes also have a higher risk of a different type of retinal detachment as a complication of diabetic retinopathy, a family of retinal disorders thought to be related to abnormal or erratic blood sugar levels.

Symptoms

Symptoms of a detached retina may include:

• The sudden appearance of "floaters" (dark, semi-transparent, floating shapes) in the field of vision. Most worrisome is a shower of black dots. These are actually red blood cells, because all retinal tears bleed a little when they occur.

• Brief, bright flashes of light - These flashes may be most noticeable when you move your eyes in the dark.

• Loss of central vision

• Loss of peripheral vision (the curtain effect)