Dystrophy of the retina

"Oh, I do not see anything at all, I'm growing old, probably," - such words often fly out of the mouths of our grandparents, when they once again can not read a small newspaper type, thread a needle or raise a fallen co knitting needles. And the blame for all choriorenal dystrophy of the eye, about the symptoms, treatment and prevention of which will be discussed in today's article.

Who and why develop retinal dystrophy?

So, it is noticed that most often both central and peripheral retinal dystrophy develops in elderly people. First of all, the aging of the organism contributes to this, the accumulation of slags and decomposition products in the tissues, a decrease in the overall level of metabolic rate and contamination of the lumens of small vessels.

In a special zone of risk for this disease are people suffering from myopia, diabetes, cardiovascular ailments, obesity and hypertension . As an exception, retinal dystrophy can also begin in a young woman in an interesting situation if she suffers from thyroid or heart disease.

Retinal dystrophy, types and symptoms

Despite the diversity of the species of this disease, it has several common characteristic for all forms of its manifestation of symptoms, namely:

1. Gradual decrease in clearness of vision near . This is the earliest symptom of retinal dystrophy, forcing patients to seek medical help.
2. Distortion of lines or doubling . There is such a phenomenon already with quite a strong development and progression of the disease, when some of the cells and vessels of the retina practically do not work.

But, in addition to the general, there are also symptoms characteristic of this or that form of eye dystrophy:

1. Chorioretinal or macular degeneration of the retina . This is the same age-related gradual loss of vision, which was mentioned at the very beginning of the article. Its manifestations begin to make themselves felt after 50 years. And the disease can develop according to two main scenarios.

   The first option, when the central vision is gradually extinguished, and the peripheral does not practically suffer. With this form, the quality of life falls sharply, for the patient is greatly hampered in spatial movement, everyday life and in general many common affairs.

   The second option is peripheral dystrophy of the retina, the form, by the way, the most dangerous because of its late detection. In this almost asymptomatic form of the disease, the nutrition and functions of the external areas of the retina are disturbed. It can even partially collapse, which will lead to such a terrible consequence, as a detachment and complete loss of vision. To detect this form of ailment is possible only with the help of ophthalmic instruments, therefore it is strongly recommended that persons over 45 years of age should be checked at least once a year, and preferably every 6 months.

2. Pigmentary degeneration of the retina . Pigmentary degeneration of the retina is a rather rare form of this disease. In its basis, most often lies the hereditary genetic predisposition transmitted from the mother to the child, in 99% of cases to the son. The symptomatology is a deterioration in the visual perception of the surrounding world when it enters a bad light zone. In severe cases, a person, in a twilight situation, does not see at all.

Treatment of retinal dystrophy

Of course, the best treatment of retinal dystrophy is prevention, that is, a timely visit to the ophthalmologist and the implementation of all his recommendations. But what if the disease still occurs? Of course, to treat, and the sooner, the better. Naturally, in each individual case the treatment will be individual, but in general it reduces to the following.

With centralized macular degeneration, laser therapy is prescribed and vascular medications. With peripheral dystrophy of the eye, protein preparations are added to the above mentioned, which are called to stop the destruction of the eye tissues. And with detachment of the retina, laser coagulation is made, popularly called soldering. Pigmentary degeneration of the retina is the most difficult form of the disease. With her, in addition to vascular and restorative drugs, vitamin therapy, a magnet and electrotherapy are prescribed. These same activities are also suggested for retinal dystrophy in pregnant women.

As you can see, retinal dystrophy is an insidious disease. So take care of your eyes from your youth, and not when the disease has already come.