Five Crucial Reasons To See A Retina Specialist
A retina specialist isn’t your everyday eye doctor, they’re a highly specialized subset of eye doctors with usually a minimum of 8 or 9 years of higher learning and specialization.
Your retina is the sensory membrane that lines the inner surface at the back of your eyeball. It contains millions of light-sensitive cells and other nerve cells responsible for receiving and organizing visual information, before sending it along the optic nerve to your brain, allowing you to see.
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The eyes are a complicated organ, and performing medical or surgical procedures on them can be extremely delicate. Here are five reasons you may want to see a retina specialist.
Diabetic Retinopathy
This is a condition that affects more than half of the people who develop diabetes type 1 or 2. As the most common cause of irreversible blindness in working-age Americans, this condition should be dealt with as early as possible by a trained specialist.
Retinal Detachment
There are many conditions that can cause retinal detachment such as diabetes, physical trauma, or complications of cataract surgery. The most common type of detachment occurs when a small hole or tear allows fluid to pass through and collect underneath the retina, forcing it to detach.
Macular Hole
This condition most commonly affects people over the age of 55, and is more prevalent in women. The macula is an area in the center of the retina where light is focused to produce our detailed color vision.
Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
AMD is the leading cause of visual acuity loss in developed countries of people over the age of 50. While the exact cause of AMD is unknown, and as yet there is no cure, there are a number of treatments that can slow down or halt its progression.
Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO)
An occlusion is a blockage of an artery or vein, and can occur almost anywhere in the body. When this occurs in the retina it can cause a number of issues from retinal detachment to irreversible loss of vision.
You may want to consider seeing a retina specialist if you believe you have any of the previously mentioned conditions, or if you have a genetic predisposition or other risk facts.
It’s also possible your eye doctor may refer you to a specialist for any of these reasons, or if you experience any other form of eye related medical emergency.
If you’re concerned about your eye health, don’t hesitate to see a doctor. You’ll be glad you did, and so will your eyes.
