Vitreous Hemorrhage

Vitreous hemorrhage is the extravasation, or leakage, of blood into the areas in and around the vitreous humor, the clear gel that fills the space between the lens and the retina of the eye, and it can cause impaired vision, floaters, and photopsia. A variety of conditions can trigger the bleeding: diabetic retinopathy accounts for 31.5 to 54 percent of adult cases, retinal tear for 11.4 to 44 percent, trauma for 12 to 18.8 percent and is the leading cause in young people, and posterior vitreous detachment for 3.7 to 11.7 percent, with the remainder attributed to other causes.