Macular edema, a painless disease

Macular edema is an accumulation of fluid that causes swelling of the macula. This is the central part of the retina responsible for fine detail vision. It can be acute or chronic, depending on the time of evolution, although it can also be due to traction on the retina.

Dr. García Martínez, from the Oftalvist Clinic team, explains everything related to macular edema.

Causes of macular edema

Macular edema can have many causes, although diabetes is one of the most frequent. It can also have other causes, such as thrombosis of the retinal veins, ocular inflammation, after undergoing surgery, or degenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The symptoms of macular edema are usually blurred vision, although these are usually painless, discolored vision and even a significant loss of vision.

Treatment of macular edema

The treatment of macular edema will depend, as in the case of many other diseases, on its causes. Such treatment will improve the patient’s condition.

In most cases, the affected person will need a treatment ranging from eye drops, intraocular injections of anti-inflammatory or antigiogenic drugs, to one that requires the laser technique, and may even need to be treated with surgery in cases where there is traction on the retina.