Posterior vitreous detachment

Posterior vitreous detachment is a common eye disease caused by natural changes in the gelatinous mass that fills the eye with age. The symptoms are usually annoying at first, but after a few weeks or a couple of months you will hardly notice them. An age-related disorder that leads to an increased amount of cloudiness in the eye. It is usually not worth worrying about, but the condition may be related to retinal detachment.

In the early stages, the condition can present similarly to retinal detachment, which is a more serious eye disease. Usually there is no reason to worry – you won’t feel any pain, the condition won’t damage your eyes or affect your vision, but in rare cases it can cause retinal detachment, a condition that can endanger your vision. That’s why it’s important to have your eyes checked as soon as you feel the symptoms and, of course, so that the right treatment can be chosen.

A sign of posterior vitreous detachment is a sudden increase in the amount of haze, as well as flashes of light. Some people describe the clouds as a spider’s web in the field of vision, although you may see them as specks or filaments. These symptoms can last for several weeks and can be quite distressing, but eventually your brain will learn to ignore them and they will no longer bother you.

Symptoms:

• Nebulae (dark spots or filaments floating in the field of vision);
• Flashes of light in your field of vision.

You should visit your eye specialist or the emergency department within 24 hours if you experience any of the following symptoms:

• The number and size of the clouds suddenly increased;
• The number of light flashes has increased;
• My vision became blurry;
• The impression is of a dark curtain moving across the field of vision.

Our eyes are filled with a gel-like fluid called vitreous humor, which holds the shape of the eye. As we age, the vitreous changes naturally, becoming more watery and shrinking away from the light-sensitive layer called the retina at the back of the eye. This usually occurs after the age of 50, although it is not uncommon in younger people.

Posterior vitreous detachment is usually diagnosed by an eye examination using dilating drops to enlarge the pupils. This allows the eye specialist to examine the eye properly and notice signs of posterior vitreous detachment, as well as to check the condition of the retina.

Complications and related eye diseases:

• Retinal detachment is a condition related to the condition described above in which the light-sensitive layer (retina) detaches from the back of the eye. Posterior vitreous detachment can cause retinal detachment in some cases, but only a small number of people with posterior vitreous detachment will develop this complication.
• Epiretinal membrane – a few months or years after the posterior vitreous detachment, the inner layer of the retina may start to thicken into what is called the epiretinal membrane. Although this can cause blurred vision, most cases of epiretinal membrane development will not significantly affect your vision and will not require any treatment.
• Vitreous haemorrhage – in the case of a posterior vitreous detachment, the vitreous pulls away from the retina and can stretch the blood vessels in the retina, allowing blood to leak into the gelatinous mass. This is called vitreous haemorrhage.