Retinal vein thrombosis is an eye disease that is caused by a violation of blood circulation in the central vein or its branches. If you start this disease, it can lead a person to complete blindness. Retinal vein thrombosis develops most often against the background of diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis and hypertension. But the disease can also occur in young people without these diseases, as a result of various infectious diseases, among which one can distinguish flu, focal infections of the oral cavity or paranasal sinuses, sepsis. Another reason for the development of retinal vein thrombosis is increased intraocular pressure, swelling of the optic nerve and pressure on the eyeball of the tumor. Other causes that can trigger the disease include alcohol and obesity.   and sedentary lifestyle.

The clinical picture of the disease

Retinal vein thrombosis develops as a result of blockage by a blood clot of a specific vessel or its branch. As a result, there is a reverse flow of blood into the capillaries of the retina, due to which pressure increases in them, which leads to hemorrhage in the retina, lack of oxygen and edema. If treatment is not started at this time, glaucoma will develop as a result. Retinal vein thrombosis, as a rule, is accompanied by various visual impairments, up to the occurrence of blindness. It depends on where the blood clot forms. The most optimistic prognosis for blockage of the central vein branch is that as the blockage resolves, a gradual improvement in vision may occur.

In cases where a blood clot formed in the central retinal vein, the situation is more dangerous – the central part of the retina is involved in the process, so restoration of vision is unlikely. But the prognosis of the disease is determined not only by the site of the lesion of the vein, but also by the neglect of the disease, as well as by the degree of occlusion (blockage). When prescribing treatment, an ophthalmologist takes into account these indicators.

Symptoms of the disease

In the early stages of retinal vein thrombosis, the diagnosis is, in most cases, established by random examination. This is due to the fact that at the first stages of the development of the disease there are no symptoms and only after some time, patients begin to pay attention to blurred vision, blurring and image distortion. But such complaints may be absent if the macula is not involved in the development of the disease.

These symptoms can last from a few days to several months, in infrequent episodes when, as with the eyesight itself, it remains acute.

It is important for each patient to know that the diagnosis of “retinal vein thrombosis” is made only on the basis of an ophthalmoscopic examination and, as a rule, there are no difficulties with its formulation.

Retinal Vein Thrombosis Treatment

A blood clot that formed in the vein of the retina can be dissolved only within the first five minutes after formation, therefore, in the future, to no avail try to eliminate it with the help of absorbable and enzyme preparations. In this regard, treatment, as a rule, is not aimed at the disease itself, but at its consequences, the degree of which depends on the localization and degree of neglect. In some cases, the patient may even need surgery. Laser retinal coagulation may be required to prevent the formation of newly formed vessels on the retina and iris. To restore vascular patency, complex therapy consisting of anticoagulants, antiplatelet agents and thrombolytics is appropriate.