How can i tell if i am having a retinal detachment?

Flashes floater veil: Vitreous separation & traction on the retina causes retinal tears-causing vitreous floaters & hazy vision. Laser helps to prevent the tear from progressing to a retinal detachment as fluid flows though untreated tears and the retina falls off the back of your eye-like wallpaper coming off a wall. This causes a veil in your side vision then central vision loss. It is painless.

Most likely: New flashes or floaters and/or loss of peripheral vision (like a curtain or veil obscuring part of the vision) require an urgent dilated retinal exam to rule out retinal detachment. On rarely can a retinal detachment be without symptoms.

Difficult: It is difficult to tell whether there is a retinal detachment by the patient him/her self. Flashes and floaters are warning signs, but very non-specific. If there is peripheral vision loss that progresses and closes in on central vision, than that is quite likely a retinal detachment. Especially if accompanied or presided by flashes and or floaters.