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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffRetinal detachment is painless, but visual symptoms almost always appear before it occurs. Warning signs of retinal detachment include:
- The sudden appearance of many floaters — small bits of debris in your field of vision that look like spots, hairs or strings and seem to float before your eyes
- Sudden flashes of light in one or both eyes
- A shadow or curtain over a portion of your visual field
- A sudden blur in your vision
When to see a doctor
Seek immediate medical attention if you suddenly notice significantly more floaters or flashes of light in your visual field or if it seems as though a dark curtain has fallen across your vision.
Unfortunately, many people don't appreciate the urgency of the warning signs of retinal detachment, and they tend to put off seeing a doctor in the hope that symptoms will disappear. In some cases, symptoms temporarily diminish only to be followed by a loss of vision over the next few days or weeks, caused by advanced retinal detachment. At this stage, retinal detachment can't always be successfully repaired with surgery, and vision loss may be permanent. So it's best to see your doctor at the earliest signs of retinal detachment.
- Retinal detachment. National Eye Institute. http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/retinaldetach/index.asp. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
- Wilkinson CP. Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. In: Yanoff M, et al. Ophthalmology. 2nd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby, Inc.; 2004:982-988.
- Arroyo JG. Retinal tear and detachment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
- Kang HK, et al. Management of retinal detachment: A guide for non-ophthalmologists. British Medical Journal. 2008;336:1235-1240.
- Posterior vitreous detachment, retinal breaks, and lattice degeneration. San Francisco, Ca.: American Academy of Ophthalmology. http://one.aao.org/asset.axd?id=01c2221b-554a-4ebb-bff9-dd8e17f84008. Accessed Oct. 3, 2008.
- Fletcher EC, et al. Retina. In: Riordan-Eva P, et al. Vaughan & Asbury's General Ophthalmology. 17th ed. United States of America: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3088798. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
