Opening your eyes to blurry vision can be scary. Not being able to read a text message, drive your car safely, or even see your loved ones clearly can lead to fatigue and a sense of losing your sight.
Perhaps you are starting to see wavy straight lines and faded colors. These could be symptoms of macular edema, which is swelling of the center part of the eye, called the macula. Ignoring this will cause permanent damage to your eyes. Luckily, the most up-to-date medical treatments can now stop this swelling.
To learn about how macular edema happens, its main warning signs, and what cutting-edge treatment can bring your vision back to normal, keep reading!
What Is Macular Edema?
To figure out why this is happening, first you have to know what it’s doing to your eye! So let’s check out what fluid build-up in your eye’s central vision does.
Macular edema means that the fluid in your central retina (the center part of your retina, which doctors call your macula) is accumulating. The macula is responsible for your central, direct vision, and when it starts to fill up with fluid, it causes your vision to swell and distort.
Macular Edema Symptoms
Okay, so now we know what this disease is at its base level. Now the question is what should you look out for? The good news? It’s never too early to know your risk factors so you can be diagnosed before damage has been done.
This is not a painful condition. Many do not recognize the signs in the very early stages of the condition. Still, eventually fluid will leak into the layers of the macula, and this swelling can cause visual changes.
Some common signs are:
- Blurry or fuzzy central vision: Objects directly in front of you look hazy.
- Wavy vision: Straight lines, like door frames or book lines, look bent or wavy.
- Color changes: Colors look faded, dull, or darker than they actually are.
- Difficulty reading: Reading, driving, or recognizing faces becomes hard.
- Size distortion: Objects may look like a different size when you look at them with one eye closed.
So if any of the above sounds familiar to you, go to an eye doctor ASAP! Catching it early saves your sight.
What Causes Macular Edema?
When you spot any of these visual symptoms, you may be asking yourself: “How did I get all of this fluid in the first place?” A variety of retinal diseases and systemic health conditions can damage the blood vessels in your retina. To better grasp the cause of macular edema, let’s explore how the blood vessels in your eye operate.
Small blood vessels in your retina are designed to provide nourishment.
When these blood vessels weaken or are damaged, they begin leaking blood and fluid into your macula, resulting in swelling.
1. Diabetic Retinopathy and DME
In the vast majority of cases, it’s diabetes that brings on macular edema. Consistently elevated blood sugar levels gradually damage the microscopic blood vessels in the back of your eyes (a condition doctors call diabetic retinopathy). If diabetic retinopathy starts to cause swelling of your macula, it’s then dubbed diabetic macular edema (DME). So, keep those levels in check.
2. Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO)
Essentially, a retinal vein occlusion is a blocked retinal vein. Picture it like a clogged pipe: the blood can’t leave the retina, so pressure builds up. The pressure will then push blood and fluid out into the macula of your retina, causing swelling and blurred vision.
3. Post-Surgical Inflammation (Cataract Surgery)
If eye surgery goes wrong, inflammation can set in. One of these conditions is macular edema, which can occur following cataract removal and other surgeries. When a surgeon uses the term Irvine-Gass syndrome to describe post-surgical swelling of the eye, it typically means there is no cause for alarm. Anti-inflammatory eye drops can usually resolve this swelling entirely.
4. Additional Risk Factors (AMD, Uveitis, Trauma)
But other conditions can lead to macular edema.
- Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration (Wet AMD): Abnormal, fragile blood vessels grow under your macula. These vessels leak fluid, causing swelling.
- Uveitis: This is an inflammatory disease that causes swelling inside your eye.
- Eye Trauma: An injury to your eye can damage blood vessels and cause fluid leakage.
- Medications: Certain drugs, like some glaucoma eye drops, can cause macular swelling as a side effect.
- Eye Tumors: Non-cancerous or cancerous tumors in the eye can cause inflammation and swelling.
If you’re worried you may have some of these risk factors, you can check out our easy-to-understand guide to macular edema. We’ll teach you how to check on your vision.
When To See A Eye Doctor Immediately?
In fact, these problems often develop over many months, but other types can cause eye problems that require emergency treatment. Recognizing an emergency can save your vision.
Even though you might want to make an eye appointment any time you see a change in your vision, certain changes indicate you should seek emergency treatment immediately:
You should immediately go to an emergency room or contact a retina specialist if you develop:
- Sudden, profound vision loss in one or both eyes
- New, black, “floating” spots in the central vision of the eye.
- Sudden eye pain, with blurry vision and a red eye.
How Is Macular Edema Diagnosed?
Regardless of whether your macular edema symptoms are gradual or sudden, it is critical to see a doctor for a proper diagnosis. You’ll find that current practices involve a quick, painless test on the back of the eye.
A macular edema diagnosis can be made only by your doctor, who will administer a full eye exam. Your doctor will use special eye drops to dilate your pupils and view the back of your eye.
To accurately diagnose swelling, doctors often use two main diagnostic tests:
- Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT): This painless, in-office imaging test helps us to see through your retina. It gives us extremely precise cross-section images of your retina. We use OCT to measure the thickness of your retina and identify any small pockets of fluid.
- Fluorescein Angiography: Your doctor inserts a safe, yellow fluid (a dye) in a vein on your arm, which then makes its way to the blood vessels of your eyes. Then, a special camera takes pictures while the dye circulates. This procedure shows exactly where, and how severely, your blood vessels are leaking.
FDA-Aligned Treatment Options
After your specialist makes a diagnosis and diagrams the leaking blood vessels, you’ll discuss treatment. Today, treatment is about drying up the fluid and restoring your sharp vision.
Treatment for macular edema depends on what’s causing it. The bottom line: you want to prevent leakage, lower swelling, and keep your vision.
Common treatment options include:
- Anti-VEGF Injections: They do this by giving you an injection right in the middle of your eye. This injection targets a protein called VEGF that helps to make abnormal, leaky blood vessels. The most frequently used medications to stop this include Eylea, Lucentis, Avastin, and Vabysmo. Anesthetic eye drops keep it from hurting!
- Corticosteroid Treatments: They are given to patients to help control inflammation or swelling, using eye drops, pills, or even time-release implants.
- Focal-Grid Laser Surgery: Your doctor shoots a narrow beam of laser light directly into leaking blood vessels inside your eye, and zaps them to stop the leaks.
- Vitrectomy: In some cases of severe glaucoma, a surgeon extracts the gel-like vitreous that occupies the middle of the eye. That lifts some of the pressure on the macula and improves blood flow.
Recovery & Prognosis
But once you get treatment, you’re not done recovering. The steps you take in your daily life and aftercare are extremely important to restoring your long-term vision.
Your eye recovery time will vary depending on the cause and severity of your macular edema. Still, vision usually returns within a few weeks to months. Adhere to your eye doctor’s plan and ensure your cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure remain within the healthy range.
Schedule Your Consultation Today
Eye health can’t be tackled alone; we’ve partnered with qualified and seasoned medical experts dedicated to safeguarding your vision. Read on to see how you can reclaim your sight now.
Don’t let poor eyesight rob you of your life and independence. Retinal specialists, with the help of leading-edge tools, are working to prevent fluid from entering your eyes and to maintain your vision.
Schedule a consultation with Retina Vitreous Associates of Florida for your personalized treatment plan. Get started today and request an appointment via our portal to start seeing clearly again.
At Retina Vitreous Associates of Florida, we offer world-class retinal care so you can live your life with your vision intact.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can Macular Edema Go Away On Its Own?
Macular edema can resolve on it’s own, but treatment is usually advised to reduce the risk of permanent retinal damage. Please see a medical professional about your condition to preserve central vision.
2. Is Macular Edema The Same As Wet AMD?
Wet AMD is when some fragile blood vessels are being built up under the macula, which is why wet AMD leads to macular edema – physical symptoms of swelling with liquid that could be due to diabetes or blockages, or even after an operation.
3. Can Lifestyle Changes Prevent Macular Edema?
Yes, you can reduce your risk by monitoring your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. Eat right, get enough exercise, and go for a comprehensive dilated eye exam each year.