What Are Retinal Disorders?

Your retina, which is the back layer of your eye, can develop diseases that require treatment to prevent loss of sight or visual clarity. Retinal disorders in Jacksonville FL affect light-sensitive tissues located at the back of your eyes. Photoreceptor cells in your retina receive and convert light into electrical signals that help your brain make sense of what you are seeing. Electrical messages received by the retina pass through your optic nerve to your brain.

Common Retinal Disorders

We treat a wide range of retinal disorders here at Stam & Associates Eye Care. Below are brief descriptions of two of the most common retinal disorders we see in our patients.

Diabetic retinopathy

Any person with diabetes can develop this condition if their blood sugar remains consistently high over a period of time. High blood sugar levels cause the blood vessels in your eyes to weaken and can make vision less sharp. Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include:

• Blurry or distorted vision
• Colors appear faded
• Difficulty seeing clearly at night or when viewing objects at a distance
• Floaters in your line of vision

Macular degeneration

This common eye condition typically affects people over age 50 and causes problems with central vision. When you have macular degeneration, seeing objects in front of you clearly becomes challenging. The macula is the central part of your retina. Symptoms of macular degeneration include:

• Blurry vision
• Colors appear faded
• Dark or blank spots in your field of vision
• Difficulty seeing clearly in low light
• Straight lines appear wavy or curvy

Please schedule an exam with us as soon as possible if you notice symptoms of either of these conditions. We also treat retinal detachment and tears, macular holes, and several other retinal disorders in Jacksonville, FL. Treatments include prescription medication and/or glasses, surgery, and lifestyle changes.