Yellow eyes in photos could be sign of rare eye disease

REGINA – It’s not aesthetically ideal when photos turn out with red-eye, but they can be used as an indicator of your eye health.

If your eyes look yellow in photos while others look red, it could be a sign of a rare eye disease.

Five-year-old Rylan Talbot had trouble seeing since birth and started regular visits with an optometrist when he turned one.

In July, he was diagnosed with a rare eye disease called Coats. He only has peripheral vision in his left eye, no central vision.

“There’s blood vessels in the eye that grow abnormally,” explained his mother, Selena Talbot. “The abnormal growth causes it to leak out a fluid called exudate. The more exudate and leaking blood vessels you have, the worse it is for your eye.”

“Even though it’s hopefully a small loss, it’s going to be eyesight in one eye, it still changes his future.”

In worst case scenarios, the pressure of the leaking blood vessels causes the retina to detach. Coats can become so painful for patients doctors remove the eyeball.

“Early diagnosis is important with this disease because it’s progressive. If you can catch it in stage one or stage two, you can help save a kid’s eye.”

While Rylan was diagnosed early, his mom feels guilty because she was warned about the yellow eye when he was just two-years-old.

“About two and a half years ago, a coworker of mine messaged me on Facebook,” Selena said as she fought back tears. “She said, ‘Rylan has a yellow eye’.”

The Coats eye appears yellow because the exudate is made of cholesterol. Selena brushed off her friend’s warning thinking Rylan’s doctors would have caught it.

“So now, looking back, I could have done something earlier. That’s why I want to get this out there,” she said. “We went back on Facebook, and every single picture where there was red eye, he had a yellow eye.”

Now, the Talbots are trying to connect people with Coats, to raise awareness and research funds.

“Hopefully when Rylan is an adult we can have a cure for this disease and save his eye,” Selena said.

People diagnosed with Coats can undergo as many as six surgeries a year to stop the disease from progressing.

“Is he going to be able to play the sports that he wants? Is he going be able to get the job he wants? Is his eye going to progress to end stage and have that eye removed. There’s constant worry since this diagnosis about what is going to happen to him.”

Rylan underwent surgery on Friday and doctors removed a membrane from the back of his eye.