Table of contents:
- What is a retinal detachment?
- Why the higher the minus eye, the increased risk of retinal detachment?
- Apart from eye height minus, what are the causes of retinal detachment?
What is the score for your minus glasses? You should start to consider undergoing LASIK if your minus is high. The reason is, the higher your minus, the higher the risk that the retina can be separated from the eyeball. This condition is called a retinal detachment, which can cause sudden blurry vision - maybe even sudden blindness. Retinal detachment is a medical emergency. The risk of retinal detachment was found to be highest in eyes minus 8 and over. How come?
What is a retinal detachment?
The retina is a thin layer of cells located at the back of the eyeball that captures light. The light received will stimulate the nerves of the eye to process it into an electrical signal which will be sent to the brain so that we can see the image.
The function of the retina is more or less the same as that of a film or sensor on a camera. The camera sensor functions to capture light, then translate it into an image. When the camera sensor is damaged, the resulting image will be disturbed or there will be no image at all. Likewise, if the retina of the eye is damaged. As a result, the vision will be blurry and maybe even not able to see at all.
Eye anatomy (source: glaucoma.org)
Retinal detachment is the detachment of part of the retina from the surrounding supporting tissue behind the eyeball. Retinal detachment resulting in sudden blurry vision. It can also cause other symptoms, such as flashes of light like a camera flash, continuous blinking, gray curtains that cover part of the vision, floaters , until sudden blindness.
Retinal absences are more common in elderly adults. However, children and young adults who have high minus eyes, aka nearsightedness, are absurdly severe, especially at high risk for this.
Why the higher the minus eye, the increased risk of retinal detachment?
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball is too long or the cornea is curved too steeply, so the light that should fall right on the retina is in front of the retina of the eye.
Now, people who have severe nearsightedness (minus score reaching 8 or even more) are at high risk of experiencing retinal detachment. This is due to the increased extension of the eyeball to the front of the eyeball which forcibly depletes the periphery of the retina.
This thinning of the retina layer over time can cause the retina to tear so that the vitreous (fluid in the middle of the eyeball) will seep into the gap between the retina and the layer behind it. This fluid then builds up and causes the entire retina to detach from its base.
The risk of retinal detachment in severe nearsightedness can be 15-200 times higher than in people with normal vision.
Apart from eye height minus, what are the causes of retinal detachment?
Some of the causes that can cause retinal tears include:
- The retina thins and becomes more fragile as you age
- Eye injury
- Diabetes complications
- Reduced vitreous production, which causes the vitreous to shrink. This shrinkage of the vitreous pulls the retina from its base, causing a tear.
Apart from high minus eyes, there are several other factors that increase a person's risk of experiencing retinal detachment, namely:
- Have had a previous retinal detachment.
- Have a family member with retinal detachment.
- Have had eye surgery or a serious eye injury.
- Have had other eye diseases or inflammation.
See a doctor immediately if you experience symptoms of retinal detachment or have risk factors, before the condition worsens and endangers your vision.
