Vision problems and common ophthalmic diseases Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment
There are many different ophthalmic diseases and vision problems. Some have no cure, but others are treatable. You can keep your eyes healthy by following a healthy lifestyle and following up with an eye specialist on a regular basis and anytime your vision changes.
The most common ophthalmic diseases
The most common eye disease conditions that lead to vision loss or blindness are:
- Macular degeneration
- Cataracts of the eye.
- Retinopathy associated with diabetes mellitus.
- Glaucoma.
- Retinal detachment
However, there are hundreds of different eye diseases and disorders some of which have a cure and others have no cure.
Macular degeneration
Also called age-related macular degeneration or AMD is an eye disease that affects your central vision. As it damages the macula, which is the central area of the retina that allows you to see fine details. It is the main cause of vision loss in people over 60 years of age.
Macular degeneration can be wet or dry. Wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow under the macula and leakage of blood and fluid occurs. This damages the macula and leads to loss of central vision. Dry AMD results in a thinning of the spot, which blurs your central vision over time. Dry AMD is more common than wet, accounting for 70% to 90% of cases.
Symptoms of macular degeneration
Symptoms of macular degeneration, which are usually not noticed until the disease develops, include:
- Blurred central vision.
- Black or dark spots in the central part of your field of vision.
- The appearance is wavy or curved into straight lines.
Although there is no definitive cure, the treatment available can slow the progression of the disease or prevent severe vision loss. Progress has recently been made in the treatment of wet macular degeneration using intraocular injections of anti-VEGF drugs.
Cataracts of the eye
A cataract is a membrane of the lens of your eye. This cloudy lens can develop in one or both eyes. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world. Cataracts are the main cause of reversible vision loss. Cataracts can occur at any age and may be present at birth, but they are more common in people over 50 years of age.
Symptoms of cataracts
Symptoms of cataracts include:
- Blurred vision (blurry)
- Glow around the lights at night
- Difficulty seeing at night
- Sensitivity to bright light
- Need a bright light to read
- Changes in the way you see color
- Frequent changes in the measurement of glasses
Surgery to remove and replace the cloudy lens with an artificial lens is considered very successful as more than 90% of people see better after cataract removal.
Retinopathy associated with diabetes mellitus
Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes mellitus. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in adults in most parts of the world.
Diabetic retinopathy is a disease in which there is persistent damage to the blood vessels of the retina due to long-term unmanaged high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue in the eye necessary for clear vision. Most people with diabetic retinopathy do not show any changes in vision until the disease becomes severe. In other cases, the symptoms come and go.
Symptoms of Retinopathy associated with diabetes mellitus
Symptoms include the following:
- Blurred or distorted vision.
- Color blindness or dull color vision.
- Poor night vision.
- Small dark spots or lines in your vision.
- Difficulty reading or seeing distant objects.
Treatments include injections of a certain type of medication and surgery that treats the repair or contraction of blood vessels in the retina.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disease caused by a higher than normal fluid pressure in the eye. Compression damages the optic nerve, which affects how visual information is transmitted to your brain. Undetected and untreated glaucoma can lead to vision loss and blindness in one or both eyes. Glaucoma often spreads among more than one person in the same family.
There are two main types of glaucoma: open-angle glaucoma develops slowly over time and you may not notice a change in vision until the disease becomes severe. Closed-angle glaucoma can occur suddenly. It is painful and causes vision loss very quickly.
Symptoms of glaucoma
Symptoms include the following:
- Eye pain or pressure on the eye nerve.
- Headaches.
- Redness of the eye.
- Dark circles around the eyes
- Poor vision or blurred vision.
- Nausea and vomiting.
Treatments focus on reducing intraocular pressure and include prescribed eye drops, laser therapy and surgery.
Retinal detachment
Retinal detachment is a detachment of the retina from the underlying tissue that holds it in place inside your eye. This is a serious eye condition that can lead to blindness if not treated. You may or may not have symptoms, depending on the severity of the separation.
Symptoms of retinal detachment
- See flashes of light.
- Seeing dark spots or jagged lines drifting across your vision.
- Blurring / covering part of your vision or side vision.
Treatments include laser therapy or various surgical methods to close the retinal tear and reconnect the retina.
Refractive eye conditions
Refractive eye problems cause you problems focusing. Light is bent incorrectly as it passes through the cornea and lens. These refractive errors are the most common eye problems among people and refractive errors include myopia, hyperopia, and distorted vision at all distances (astigmatism). These eye conditions can be helped with glasses, contact lenses, or surgery.
Presbyopia
Presbyopia is the inability to focus on a range of vision. It is often confused with farsightedness, but they are not the same conditions. Presbyopia is a natural loss of lens elasticity that comes with age. Farsightedness is an abnormal short form of the eye that causes light to bend incorrectly after it enters the eye. Presbyopia is treated with corrective lenses.
Eye floaters
Eye floaters are lumps or deposits that float in the vitreous fluid of the eye (the transparent, gel-like substance in the middle of the eye). Floaters appear as spots floating in your field of vision. They are usually harmless, but if they appear suddenly and other symptoms occur with them, such as flashes of light or partial loss of lateral vision, it may be a sign of a more serious eye condition, such as retinal detachment.
Dry eyes
Dry eyes occur when the lacrimal glands cannot produce enough tears and cannot lubricate the surface of your eyes sufficiently. Treatments include artificial tears or tear duct plugs to prevent the tears from draining.
Tearing of the eye
Eye tearing occurs when your eyes produce more tears than can be dried. This can be from allergies to climatic elements such as wind, sun, temperature changes, eye infection or blockage of the tear duct.
The most common cases of eye diseases in children
Common eye conditions in children include:
- Amblyopia: amblyopia (also called lazy eye) occurs when your child’s brain and one eye do not work together properly and the brain prefers the other eye with better vision. They will have a decrease in vision in the unloved eye. This is the most common cause of visual impairment in children.
- Strabismus: strabismus is a lack of coordination between your child’s eyes, which causes the eyes to cross or turn over. Do not focus your child’s eyes together on one picture at the same time. This can cause a decrease of 3Degrees vision or the brain may prefer one eye over the other, which can cause loss of vision in the non-preferred eye.
- Conjunctivitis: conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is an inflammation of the clear tissue that lines the inner surface of the eyelid. This tissue is called the conjunctiva. It helps to keep the eyelid and eyeball moist. Pink eye can be very contagious, especially among children. Although it does not harm vision, it causes itching, redness, blurry, tearing and discharge.
Eye diseases and genetic factors
Genetic factors can play a role in many types of eye diseases, some of which are the main causes of blindness in infants, children and adults. More than 60% of cases of blindness among infants are caused by inherited eye diseases , including:
- Congenital cataracts.
- Congenital glaucoma.
- Degeneration of the retina.
- Atrophy of the optic nerve.
- Eye abnormalities.
There are also numerous studies that strabismus (misalignment of the eye) is related to genetic factors. Glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration appear to be inherited in a large part of cases in adults . Researchers have made significant progress in identifying genes that cause retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease of the retina that causes night blindness and progressive vision loss. Recently, gene therapy has been used to treat a form of retinitis pigmentosa at the beginning of early childhood.
Common vision problems that are hereditary
Researchers now have evidence that some of the most common vision problems among children and adults are genetically determined. Such eye problems include:
- Strabismus.
- Myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism.
- Degeneration of the retina.
- Glaucoma.
The most important tips for the Prevention of eye diseases
There is a lot you can do to protect your vision. The recommendations include the following:
- Check with an ophthalmologist at regular intervals: even if you do not have any noticeable changes in your vision. Some eye diseases have no early warning signs. Ask your eye care professional how often you should be seen.
- Recognize risk factors for eye diseases: some of them include age, family history of eye diseases, your ethnic background, or the presence of other health conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes.
- Healthy lifestyle choices: keeping your body as healthy as possible will reduce the risk of eye diseases or vision problems. Maintaining a healthy weight, eating healthy foods, exercising for at least 30 minutes a day most days of the week and stopping smoking are some examples of healthy choices.
- Protect eyes: wear sunglasses even on cloudy days to protect your eyes from long and medium UV rays. Wear appropriate protective glasses when exercising or when working at home. Avoid prolonged computer and phone that cause eye strain. Rest your eyes and focus on distant objects for 60 seconds every 20 minutes.
