1. Visual Clues
Although retinal detachment is painless, you still want to look for symptoms to help you reach a diagnosis. If you don't get medical attention right away when your retina detaches, you can end up with permanent vision loss. Prior to the retina detaching, your eye will send you warnings that something is wrong. Visual clues to let you know something is wrong includes floaters that appear in front of your eyes. Your vision may seem blurry or cloudy. Parts of your vision may remain clear while other parts of the eye develop a problem. You may see sudden light flashes in your eyes that appear out of nowhere. Some of these symptoms arise from other less serious eye conditions and do not automatically indicate you're suffering from retinal detachment.
2. Delving Deep Into the Eyes
If you have any problems with your vision, you should make an appointment with your eye doctor to determine if you're suffering from retinal detachment. Besides noting your changes in vision, your eye doctor will also take your medical history into consideration. Certain conditions put you at higher risk for retinal detachment. If you have any trauma to the eyes, diabetes or an inflammatory disease, you may need evaluation for the disorder. After considering your risk, your doctor will examine your eyes closely to see if you're suffering from the condition. After a standard eye exam, your doctor will use special instruments to look at your retina closely. One such instrument, an ophthalmoscope, has an extremely bright light and ultra powerful lens that allows the doctor to see inside your eyes. If the retina's detached, your eye doctor will see it through this microscope.
3. Assessing the State of the Retina
During a basic eye exam, an ophthalmologist will use tools with microscopic abilities to see whether your retina has detached or is in the process of detaching from the rest of the eye. In some cases, blood in your eye's cavities, can prevent the eye doctor from seeing the state of your retina. If this occurs, your doctor will likely want to perform an ultrasound of your eye. After the ultrasound's complete, your doctor can better assess the state of the retina and whether you're suffering from a retinal tear or retinal detachment. If diagnosed early enough, your eye doctor can schedule eye surgery to help repair the damage. If the retina has not completely detached, you have a good chance of having your vision return back to normal.
