1. Eye Health – Caring for your Retina. 2. Diabetes and the prevention of Retinal Problems. 3. Retina Problems can be Associated with Age. 4. Latest Advances in Retina Treatments for Vision Loss.

1. Taking Care Of
Your Retina

2. Synopsis
O Eye Health – Caring for your Retina
O Diabetes and the prevention of
Retinal Problems
O Retina Problems can be Associated
with Age
O Latest Advances in Retina Treatments
for Vision Loss

3. Eye Health – Caring for your
Retina
O Retina detachment can occur at any time due to sporting injuries, vehicular
accidents and general health problems and especially diabetes. The
retinarequires a steady normal blood flow to perform correctly and therefore
any interruption to this such as blood pressure elevation will cause
problems. Retinopathy, being damage to the retina can cause vision
impairment.Diabetic retinopathy is the cause of blindness in roughly 4%-5%
of the world population and exceptional care should be taken by diabetics
and coupled with frequent inspections of the retina to check pressures etc.
Diabetics with impaired vision need to be especially mindful of any trauma
which might affect the retina. Damaged blood vessels sometimes
manifested at the back of the eye is often the cause of retinal detachment or
possibly a tear in the retina.
O A retinal tear will allow fluids to seep behind the eye and is often the cause
of retinal detachment. This tare can be surgically repaired using lasers
which is one method. The lasers will heal the tear restoring the eye to a
normal function after a while. High blood pressures can cause vitreous
hemorrhage and be present even in younger people. Any trauma especially
can cause vitreous hemorrhage and retinal detachment. Especially seen on
older people, macular degeneration can cause blurred or impaired vision of
some form. A diagnosis of this can only be seen by an eye examination which
is absolutely necessary as one grows older.

4. Diabetes and the prevention of
Retinal Problems
O The intolerance of our body to combat blood sugar levels, and there are
many reasons, but generally our inability to produce enough insulin can
affect our eyes. It is also true then that our general health, and any
bodily infections can cause harm to the eyes. In general, retinopathy, a
chronic eye disease results from the damaging effects of poorly
controlled blood sugar affecting the delicate blood vessels in the eye
and leads to eventual blindness. This chronic disease has affected
patients from as young as 20 to 64 years of age in the US. Badly
swollen blood vessels caused by poorly controlled sugar levels which
lead to high blood pressure can burst the blood vessels in the eye. Due
to this effect, fluid becomes present behind the retina often causing
retinal detachment and in some case blindness.
O Dr Shane and his team who approach these patients with courtesy
passion and respect have earned his practice a name and is known far
and wide in many states. Using laser treatment, Dr Shane is able to
repair these damaged retinas however diabetic patients are advised to
visit the American academy of ophthalmology website for more
information at: http://www.asrs.org/patients/retinal-
diseases/3/diabetic-retinopathy. Even these laser techniques cause
irreversible burns on the retina and therefore diabetic patients are
continually suffering from vision loss.

5. Retina Problems can be
Associated with Age
O Many patients think they are becoming blind when a detached retina
occurs. Indeed, if they do not have it attended to speedily this can well be
the end result. Dr Shane is in practice to specifically examine all aspects of
the eye whilst being a retina specialist he would diagnose any disease,
including vitreous disease with a detailed eye examination. Dr Shane is a
vitreoretinalsurgeon. Another aspect of the ophthalmologist is to check for
cataracts in the eye, basically a clumping of protein can become larger over
time. They say time heals all things however, age is against you as far as the
eyes go. The older we get a clouding of the lens takes place known as
cataracts. They can affect the picture presented to the back of the. If retinal
detachment is advanced, it will make the picture received by the retina
somewhat less sharp. There is a twofold problem with cataracts. The
cloudier the lens becomes; the less light is received by the retina and
therefore we cannot see so well. Images become blurry and bright lights
such as car headlights when driving at night, seem starry and dazzle the
eye
O A detached retina, which has pulled away from the soft tissue behind the
eye, needs attention. Dr Shane will tell you that the eye has the final
decision on what is presented to the brain and therefore the eye must be
100% correct in its retinal scan as possible.

6. Latest Advances in Retina
Treatments for Vision Loss
O A brand new and advanced treatment for vision loss includes the
development in imaging technology. This is commonly referred to as Optical
Coherence Tomography or OTC. By using this OTC imaging photography,
surgeons and ophthalmologists have been able to visualize any changes in
the eye resulting in earlier threatened retinopathy. There are also some
newer treatments which involve the injection into the retina to reduce
swelling. This new method leaves no significant traces or burns as do the
lasers.
O Dr Shane's best comment is asking patients "Have you ever been told there
is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow?" We all know that rainbows do not
exist as tangible objects in the world, instead, it is an image created by the
retina in the eye, a wonderful and delicate structure. The retina is
responsible for all the color we see in our world and therefore, one could
unanimously say it is worth a pot of gold. Understanding the structure of
the retina, we could say it is similar to the inside lining of a basketball. It
has the surface area of a silver dollar and has 150 million cells called
photoreceptors. These photoreceptors create images, translate the colors
and send the image, possibly akin to the most complex transmission nerve
impulse system, as IT professionals might call it, to the brain where it is
interpreted and where they are processed into images.

7. The End
For more details, please visit:
http://www.retinacareflorida.com/