Anyone else had retinal detachment from atopic dermatitis?

I didn’t have full retinal detachment thankfully, but have permanent corneal damage and kerotoconous, and just last year I found out I have mild retinal degeneration. Thankfully it’s not awful and nothing needs to be done for it at the moment, just yearly check ups with a retina specialist. But they did tell me to be careful of the detachment symptoms and head to the ER immediately if I experience any of them. I am guessing you had to have surgery?


I hope you are doing better now, I’m so sorry you had to experience that- vision changes and vision loss is so terrifying. -Nina (AtopicDermatitis.net Team Member)

Hi ,

Dealing with eczema around the eyes can be maddening. Experiencing a visual impairment like the floaters from retinal detachment must have been a frightening experience for you. Did your retinal specialist or ophthalmologist tell you what caused the retinal detachment? Our article about eye symptoms (https://atopicdermatitis.net/affect-eyes-eczema) gives a lot of detail about the various complications eczema can present. I sincerely hope you are doing better after your treatment. Wishing you the best!

Courtney (AtopicDermatitis.net Team Member)

Hi, Helen,

It sounds like the AD you have around your eyes is pretty severe! I don't have AD around my eyes (at least not currently, though I have in the past), but I did need a laser surgery to seal up some holes/tears in my retina. I've had one surgery in each eye so far. The eye doctor said that the tears was from being extremely near-sighted (my eyes are shaped like footballs, and my retina just couldn't stretch that far any more!). I hope that the attachment surgery wasn't too bad for you. I've seen that it can require a long recovery, while with the laser surgery I had, I just needed drops for a week or so. I hope you can find some relief for the AD around your eyes too!

-Stefanie (AtopicDermatitis.net Team Member)