What Are Central Serous Chorioretinopathy Symptoms

Symptoms of central serous chorioretinopathy can include:

• distorted, dimmed, or blurred central vision
• a dark area in your central vision
• straight lines may appear bent, crooked or develop in your affected eye
• objects may appear smaller or further away than they are
• when you stare at a white object, it may seem to have a brownish tinge or appear duller in color

Who is at risk for central serous chorioretinopathy?

Males in their 30s to 50s are more likely to develop central serous chorioretinopathy than women.Stress is a major risk factor. People under severe stress may be more likely to have central serous chorioretinopathy.Other risk factors for central serous chorioretinopathy are: use of steroids (orally or through a vein or even inhaled) helicobacter pylori infection (a type of bacteria that can infect the stomach) autoimmune disease (is when your body attacks its own tissues) sleep disturbances like insomnia (having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep) type A behavior (aggressive and competitive behavior) hypertension (high blood pressure)

How is central serous chorioretinopathy diagnosed?

Your ophthalmologist dilates (widens) your eye with dilating eye drops to observe your retina.He or she then take special photographs of your eye. During the fluorescein angiography procedure, a dye is inserted into a vein in your arm, The dye travels throughout the body, including your eyes. Your doctor takes photographs for your eye as the dye passes through the retinal blood vessels. The orange dye will show abnormal regions in your eye. This can help find regions with central serous chorioretinopathy.Optical coherence tomography (OCT) also helps your doctor observe the retina. A machine scans the posterior of the eye and provides detailed three- dimensional pictures of the retina. This helps measure retinal thickness and locate swelling of the retina.

How is central serous chorioretinopathy treated?

In most cases of central serous chorioretinopathy clear up in a couple months without any treatment. During this time, your ophthalmologist will look at your eye to see if the liquid is going away. Every once and while there is severe vision loss or the leakage does not go away. In these cases, laser treatment or photodynamic therapy may be utilized. These treatments can seal the leak and repair vision.Most individuals with central serous chorioretinopathy regain good vision even without treatment. But vision may not be as good as it was before the diagnosis. About half of patients who have had central serous chorioretinopathy will have it come back. It is important to have normal follow-up exams with your ophthalmologist. This is because long-term fluid accumulation can have you lose your sight completely.

Summary

Central serous chorioretinopathy is when fluid builds up beneath the retina. This causes swelling and distorts vision. Men are more likely than women to have central serous chorioretinopathy.If you have central serous chorioretinopathy, your vision may appear blurry or dim. You may have a blind spot in your vision and objects may appear smaller or farther away than they are.If your ophthalmologist thinks you have central serous chorioretinopathy, he or she will widen your eye with dilating eye drops. Special photographs will be taken to look for swelling in the back of the eye.In most cases of central serous chorioretinopathy clear up without treatment. It is important to have regular follow-up appointments with your ophthalmologist. Your ophthalmologist will look at your eye to see if the fluid has gone away. If it does not, laser treatment or photodynamic therapy can help seal the leak.