Eye Diseases

Eye Problems

Human eyes are one of the components or sensory organs of our sensory system. Eyes give us the power to see things- it can be you gazing into your partner or buying your favorite dress- you need your eyes to see things around you—80 percent of the things that we perceive come through our sense of sight. Protecting your eyes is especially important. If your eyes are not protected, your vision can get impacted, leading to vision loss or blindness. Eyes are complex organs that are made up of a number of eye parts; these parts need to function properly. If not, various eye problems or eye disorders can happen to you. 

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Different Types of Eye Related Diseases 

• Glaucoma: Glaucoma is one of the most common eye diseases. It happens due to the rupture of the optic nerve of the eyes. Glaucoma is also often related to the increase in pressure of the fluids in the eye. Glaucoma is usually inherited and shows up late in life. If glaucoma is not treated properly, it can cause permanent damage to your eyes. 

• Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma (or Chronic Glaucoma): It is one of the most common types of eye problems in glaucoma. The reason for this kind of glaucoma is usually the rise in pressure in the eye fluid. This increased pressure causes damage in the optic nerves and can even lead to the rupture of the vessels in the optic nerves. The symptoms of glaucoma are not very evident in the early stages of life. For many who are having this problem, symptoms go unnoticed many times. 

• Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma (or Acute Glaucoma): This type of glaucoma develops when the drainage in the eye is caused because of the change in position of the iris. The iris usually under these conditions tend to move forward and can cause the drainage angles to close and the air pressure to rise in the eyes. When the damage reaches the optic nerves, glaucoma becomes chronic, and we use the term primary open-angle glaucoma for it. 

• Secondary Glaucoma: In the secondary angle-closure glaucoma, the trabecular meshwork is damaged, which increases the air pressure to more than normal and causes a limited flow of aqueous solution through the pupil. Symptoms are not very easily identifiable in the early stages of life unless you visit your optician or any eye specialist.

• Developmental or Congenital Glaucoma: This type of glaucoma is usually the one that is caused in the development years of a human, especially in babies or children. And, therefore, this type of glaucoma is called developmental glaucoma or congenital glaucoma.  The developmental glaucoma is usually of various types- primary congenital glaucoma, Axenfeld’s Anomaly, and Peter’s Anomaly.

• General Symptoms Of Glaucoma: Blurred vision, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and rainbow halos. 

Treatment of Glaucoma: - Eye drops prescribed by eye specialists can help in treating glaucoma at an early stage. If the disease is very chronic, the doctor may suggest surgery or laser treatment.

• Age-Related Macular Degeneration Of Eyes: This is a typical eye disorder amongst the older population. The macula of the eyes, i.e., the center of the retina is damaged due to the degeneration of the cells of the macula. There are two types of age-related macular degeneration of eyes-

• Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration: In this type of macular degeneration, the center of the retina is damaged.

• Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration: In this type, the blood vessels in the retina leaks and grows. 

Treatment Of Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Surgery can be an option. Other than that, a special combination of minerals and vitamins called the AREDS Formula can slow down its progression. 

• Cataract: This is another common eye problem, and it is widely found in old age people. Just as the lens of our mobile camera gets blurred when broken or cracked, the lens of our eyes can also get blurred. A cataract is simply the clouding of the eye lens. This clouding can be an inherent disorder or may be caused by some change in the tissues of the lens. Even diseases like diabetes can be a cause of cataracts. There three primary types of cataract- Cortical Cataract, Posterior Subcapsular Cataract, and Nuclear Sclerotic Cataract. 

General Symptom: Headaches and blurry vision.

Treatment: Cataract surgery or any other prescribed medicine by your eye specialist. 

• Bulging Eyes or Proptosis: Bulging eyes or protruded eyes (one or both) is a condition that is caused when the eyes are moved out of your eye sockets. When there is an overactive thyroid gland, the protrusion of the eyes can be termed as Exophthalmos. It can also be a genetic disorder.

General Symptoms: Puffy eyes and bulging eyes

Treatment: Eye drops, glasses, and other medicines.

• Lazy Eye: It is a condition in which there is a lack of vision, but only in one eye, this is because the eye and brain do not work together, and hence, the signals from this eye do not reach the brain on time causing loss of vision.

General Symptoms: Eyes pointing in a different direction, poor vision in one eye.

Treatment: Use of glasses and contact lenses; patching of the stronger eye.