Retinal Vascular Occlusion affects the eye, specifically the retina. It’s also a serious condition, especially if hardening of the arteries already exists.
Brief Anatomy Of The Eye
The retina is the light-sensitive layer of tissue that lines the back of your eye which is covered with special cells called rods and cones. These convert light into neural signals that are sent to the brain, giving you vision. The vascular system includes blood vessels such as arteries and veins, which transports blood throughout the body, including your eyes.
Blood Flow Removes Waste
Blood also removes the waste your retina produces. However, when one of the vessels carrying blood to or from the retina becomes blocked or even cause a blood clot it is called an occlusion. When this occurs, the occlusion can cause blood or other fluids to build up and prevent the retina from correctly filtering light. As a result, when light is blocked or fluids are present, loss of vision can occur.
How Is Retinal Vascular Occlusion Treatable?
So how is this treatable? Although many who have this condition will have permanent changes to their vision, your doctor may recommend medication such as injections to the eye to control the swelling called corticosteroid drugs.
Other drugs could also include Lucentis or Eylea. Often times, laser therapy can also be used to break down blockage in the blood vessels, keeping more damage from occurring.
