Cystoid Macular Edema (CME)

Swelling of Macula with Cysts

Cystoid macular edema (CME) causes cysts (fluid-filled areas) in the macula which in turn cause edema (swelling) over there.

These cysts cause no pain, whatsoever.

Ophthalmology has not yet been able to assign any pin pointed cause of the condition, but its occurrence has commonly been found to be coinciding with retinal vein occlusion, uveitis, and/or diabetes as well as inflicting the eye after cataract surgery.

Around two out of every hundred cataract patients who have gone for cataract surgery fall prey to macular edema in the earlier part of the first year after surgery.

If the one eye has fallen prey to macular edema, the other too generally follows suit.

Nobody knows why!

May be sympathy!

Cystoid macular edema blurs the central vision. It doesn't affect the peripheral vision at all!

But these are not the exclusive symptoms of macular edema only. Many other conditions may share the same symptoms with it.

Cysts are treated with treated with anti-inflammatory medications such as cortisone or indomethacin administered as eye drops, injection or by mouth.

At times, diuretics like diamox are also prescribed and administered in order to reduce the swelling of the area.

In rare cases, vitreous humor may also pull on the macula causing macular edema.

In such cases vitrectomy, removing the vitreous gel surgically, is the only alternative left as a treatment.

At times, cystoid macular edema may also become the cause of the onset of glaucoma.

In such a case, the two treatments, one for macular edema and the other for glaucoma, have to run separate from and parallel to each other.

As far as the prognosis of macular edema is concerned, we see some ray of hope in the words of Dr. W.H.Bates who worked a lot all through his life on the sensitivity of macula and fovea and their effect on vision:

'In the center of the retina is a small circular elevation known, from the yellow color which it assumes in death and sometimes also in life, as the "macula lutea", literally the "yellow spot".'

'In the center of this spot is the fovea, a deep depression of darker color.'

'In the center of this depression there are no rods, and the cones are elongated and pressed very closely together.'

'The other layers, on the contrary, become here extremely thin, or disappear altogether, so that the cones are covered with barely perceptible traces of them.

Beyond the center of the fovea the cones become thicker and fewer and are interspersed with rods, the number of which increases toward the margin of the retina.'

'The precise function of these rods and cones is not clear; but it is a fact that the center of the fovea, where all elements except the cones and their associated cells practically disappear, is the seat of the most acute vision.'

'As we withdraw from this spot, the acuteness of the visual perceptions rapidly decreases.'

'The eye with normal vision, therefore, sees one part of everything it looks at best, and everything else worse, in proportion as it is removed from the point of maximum vision; and it is an invariable symptom of all abnormal conditions of the eyes, both functional and organic, that this central fixation is lost.'

'These conditions are due to the fact that when the sight is normal the sensitiveness of the fovea is normal, but when the sight is imperfect, from whatever cause, the sensitiveness of the fovea is lowered, so that the eye sees equally well, or even better, with other parts of the retina. Contrary to what is generally believed, the part seen best when the sight is normal is extremely small.'

'The text-books say that at twenty feet an area having a diameter of half an inch can be seen with maximum vision, but anyone who tries at this distance to see every part of even the smallest letters of the Snellen test card - the diameter of which may be less than a quarter of an inch - equally well at one time will immediately become myopic.'

'The fact is that the nearer the point of maximum vision approaches a mathematical point, which has no area, the better the sight.'

'The cause of this loss of function in the center of sight is mental strain; and as all abnormal conditions of the eyes, organic (including macular edema) as well as functional, are accompanied by mental strain, all such conditions must necessarily be accompanied by loss of central fixation.'

'When the mind is under a strain the eye usually goes more or less blind. The center of sight goes blind first, partially or completely, according to the degree of the strain, and if the strain is great enough the whole or the greater part of the retina may be involved.'

Vision therapy works on the lines of Dr. Bates, but added with the knowledge of chakras having their clear cut effect on vision, it promises to become much more efficient as far as instant vision correction is concerned.

Eye is the structure; and vision, its function.

If the structure is right, function is right too.

And if the function is somehow set right, shouldn't structure get set right too?

That's only an idea. But isn't it worth researching on?

Correcting function in order to correct the structure!

Especially when it comes to search for an objective treatment for cystoid macular edema!

ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS: Blink Del.icio.us Digg
Furl Google Simpy Spurl Technorati Y! MyWeb

I invite you to subscribe to my weekly E-zine titled Third Eye-zine.

This weekly E-zine publishes rare, revolutionary articles which are of real use in the day-to-day life of a common man, covering topics concerning the effect of third eye opening on health, diseases, personality, performance, efficiency, relationship, sex, mind, creativity, passion, business, management, and energy level of a person; apart from its effect on vision correction.

A not-to-be-missed opportunity!

Subscribe to it here:

I also invite you to subscribe to my Third Eye Blog - no need to provide your e-mail address here.

This RSS feed keeps you informed about new developments taking place on this site.

It also harbors my weekly Third Eye Bloglet narrating My Story : My Date with My Body - a bloglet about vision, mind, sex, science, and society. A real interesting reading!

In order to subscribe to the blog, right-click on the orange RSS button (see buttons up to the left) and then paste the URL into your RSS reader.

Or click on add to My Yahoo! button or My MSN or Add To Google button if you keep a personalized home page there.

If you are not sure what RSS or blogging is all about, click on What's an RSS Feed? here:

What's an RSS feed?