Features of development and treatment of vitreous humor

The vitreous humor is the space between the lens and the retina of the eye, filled with a jelly-like substance consisting of water and collagen. It is necessary to maintain the tone and shape of the eyeball. With age or after serious injuries of the visual apparatus, a pathological condition may develop in the form of degenerative changes in the vitreous humor, in which the natural interaction between the basic elements of the eye. It is this violation in medicine that is usually called the detachment of the vitreous.

Mechanism of disease development

In newborns, the vitreous has a very dense structure and strongly adheres to the retina.With age, this organ begins to separate into two fractions - a liquid (95% water) and fibrous, which is formed from the protein particles that are joined together. During the development of the disease, proteins begin to change anomalously, which leads to so-called detachment.

Defect of this structural component of the eye is a progressing pathology with time, in which there is a weakening of the tone of the hyaloid membrane, which leads to serious complications in the form of loss of visual acuity, development of myopia.Depending on the severity of the clinical case, damage to the macular area may occur, which always leads to irreversible ophthalmologic disorders.

According to statistics, the disease is diagnosed in most cases in people older than 50 years, and in women, the vitreous detachment is much more common.

The disease often develops during hormonal changes in women during menopause. That is why it is so important during this period to undergo a comprehensive medical examination in time to detect the onset of the disease.

Causes

In addition to natural age-related changes in the body, detachment of the vitreous humor may be due to the following reasons:

• Age and pathological decrease in the amount of collagen in the structural components of the visual apparatus, a decrease in the turgor;
• Ophthalmic diseases of different etiology.More often, detachment occurs with myopia and problems with the vascular system of the eye;
• The destruction of the vitreous humor of the eye can develop with certain functional diseases: Marfan's syndrome, diabetes mellitus and other endocrine and autoimmune diseases;
• In rare cases, the early development of ZAST is associated with injuries and damage to the eyeball.

  With myopia, vitreous detachment is possible

Detachment of the vitreous humor is one of the most frequent complications after various operations on the visual apparatus. Competent passage of the postoperative period is the best way to avoid such problems.

Symptoms

The first sign of the onset of the disease is the appearance of phosphenes in the field of vision, which can be in the form of dots, zigzags or sparks, which is associated with the retina voltage when the substance of the vitreous body is detached from it. As the disease develops, other symptoms also appear:

• Appearance of opacities in front of the eyes in the form of a full or incomplete ring, spider webs;
• Inflammation of the mucous membranes of the eye, which may be accompanied by general malaise and subfebrile fever;
• One-sided or bilateral reversal of visual acuity;
• Tyndall syndrome occurs, in which a beam of light upon entering the retina is transformed into a cloudy strip, which leads to various visual disturbances;
• Often there is redness of the eye due to the broken blood vessels on the conjunctiva, increased tearing, there are unpleasant sensations when palpating the eyeball.

In most cases, the exfoliation of the vitreous in the early stages is completely asymptomatic.

The development of pathology can contribute to lack of sleep, severe stress and anxiety, as well as some contact sports and strong physical stress on the body.

Possible complications

Detachment of the vitreous body, regardless of severity and appearance, affects visual acuity.When untimely treatment quickly occurs myopia, and also the appearance of complete or partial blindness.An active and uncontrolled process of peeling off this structural element can lead to rupture of the retina, as well as causing a macular fibroplastic (epiretral) fibrosis, in which the fibrous part of the vitreous body passes to the retina and causes a violation of it integrity.Often, this disorder slowly progresses, so the appeal to a specialist occurs only in the late stages of the development of the disease.

In the case that the vitreous humor is attached to the retina for some reason, the probability of a macular rupture is high, at which the visual acuity decreases rapidly and scotomas arise.

Treatment

With a single appearance of "black flies which is often a harbinger of the onset of the disease, it is recommended to abandon all provoking factors in the form of physical and mental loads, eliminate stress and use any relaxing techniques.If this symptom appears again, you should definitely contact an ophthalmologist for further diagnosis.

To date, there have not been developed effective medicinal methods for treating vitreous detachment, therefore, when an illness is detected, an operation is always prescribed.Usually laser techniques are used for this purpose, for example,vitreolysis.

It consists in the action of the YAG laser on the affected components of the eye, which allows us to break down into small particles the protein cells that provoked the disease.Despite the fact that this procedure is considered one of the safest and rarely leads to complications after surgery, it is rarely used in most countries. This is because the procedure requires a certain competence of the doctor and his ability to influence the laser on mobile objects in the affected area.

With a strong detachment of the vitreous that can not be eliminated by laser exposure, vitrectomy is used. This is the complete or partial removal of this component and its subsequent replacement with an implant with saline. During this operation, there is a risk of detachment of the retina and hemorrhage into the cavity of the eye, therefore the procedure is performed only in exceptional cases after serious preparation and study of the patient.

Carrying out a vitrectomy

For recovery, all prescriptions must be observed during the post-operation period to prevent relapse and possible consequences.

Prevention

The functioning of the vitreous humor largely depends on the lifestyle and the presence of bad habits.Therefore, to prevent the disease, it is recommended to observe the regime of the day, evenly distribute the load, and also to give up excessive use of alcohol and nicotine.

With age, the risk of developing pathology significantly increases, in addition, the accompanying risk factors in the form of functional diseases.Therefore, after 45 years, it is necessary to undergo a full medical examination every year in order to notice the onset of the development of pathogenic processes in the visual apparatus and the body as a whole.

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conclusions

Detachment of the vitreous humor is a common disease, which is largely caused by the work of the organs of vision during life. In order to avoid the development of this ailment, it is worth already from the early years to pay due attention to their health, and with injuries and damage to the eye in time to consult a specialist, since some visual impairments may not appear immediately, but only after for a long time.

Also read about what diseases affect the retina and what is conjunctival chemosis.