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How does vitreous hemorrhage cause retinal detachment?
It occurs when the vitreous pulls away from the retina at the back. This can happen quite suddenly as the vitreous tends to shrink with age. Most commonly there are no symptoms. Sometimes posterior vitreous detachment causes bleeding from the retina as it pulls away.
Can you go blind from vitreous hemorrhage?
A vitreous haemorrhage can be severe and result in legal blindness, or it may be mild and result only in annoying black floaters. The severity of visual loss is related to the density of the haemorrhage and the underlying cause for the bleeding.
How serious is a vitreous hemorrhage?
Bleeding from a vitreous hemorrhage can also cause scar tissue to form near the back of the eye. This can pull the retina away from the back lining of the eye, requiring additional treatment to keep the retina from detaching and permanently damaging vision.
What is spontaneous vitreous hemorrhage?
The symptoms of vitreous hemorrhage are varied but usually include painless unilateral floaters and/or visual loss. Early or mild hemorrhage may be described as floaters, cobwebs, haze, shadows or a red hue. More significant hemorrhage limits visual acuity and visual fields or can cause scotomas.
Can Bleeding behind the eye cause blindness?
In more-severe cases, blood can fill the vitreous cavity and completely block your vision. Vitreous hemorrhage by itself usually doesn’t cause permanent vision loss. The blood often clears from the eye within a few weeks or months. Unless your retina is damaged, your vision will likely return to its previous clarity.
How long does it take for a vitreous hemorrhage to clear?
Normally, no treatment is needed for a vitreous hemorrhage. The blood should clear by itself and your vision will be restored. Unfortunately, this may take up to several months. Your eye doctor will follow up with you and monitor this condition until it goes away.
Is vitreous hemorrhage common?
Vitreous hemorrhage is common, with varied clinical manifestations and causes. The most common causes include proliferative diabetic retinopathy, vitreous detachment with or without retinal breaks, and trauma.
Can stress cause vitreous hemorrhage?
Stress is not a recognized cause of subconjunctival hemorrhage. The good news is, if you had a conjunctival hemorrhage, these are only cosmetically annoying but go away and do not endanger the vision.
How do you treat vitreous hemorrhage?
Treatment of vitreous hemorrhage depends on the underlying cause. In symptomatic retinal tears with vitreous hemorrhage, laser or cryotherapy is generally indicated. In retinal detachment, pars plana vitrectomy or scleral buckling surgery is indicated.