Imperfect Vision DISORDERS AND DISEASES
Several diseases affect the eye, either directly or as part of a system-wide problem. Often serious, these conditions require immediate professional care to preserve your vision.
Cataracts:Cataracts are a degenerative form of eye disease in which the lens gradually becomes opaque and vision mists over. While cataracts can occur as the result of other eye diseases, they mostly develop due to age. In fact, it is believed that everyone would have cataracts if we lived long enough. Less common causes of cataracts include heredity, associated birth defects, chronic disease, such as diabetes, excessive use of steroid medications and eye injury.
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Eye without cataract |
Eye with cataract |
Common symptoms of cataracts include painless blurring of vision, frequent prescription changes for corrective lenses, glare and haloes, colours looking dull and brownish, poor night vision and both sensitivity to light and finding lighting too dim.
While there is no way to prevent cataracts although there are several things you can do to limit or slow their formation. For instance, unstable molecules, known as free radicals, can damage cells in the eye, potentially causing problems such as cataracts. Studies have shown that antioxidant vitamins and minerals may help combat free radicals. Ask your eye care professional whether vitamin supplements are right for you. Also, protecting your eyes from strong sunlight by using branded 100% UV-protected sunglasses may slow the formation of age-related cataracts.
There are no medications, eye-drops, exercises, or glasses that will cause cataracts to disappear. However, they can be successfully treated with surgery.
Colour blindness: Most people affected by colour blindness cannot distinguish between reds and greens in dim light; some cannot separate blues from yellows; and a very small group have a condition called monochromatism, which only allows them to see black and white.
Colour blindness is caused by a lack of one or more of the light-sensitive substances found in the retina and is the result of a recessive gene on the X chromosome. Colour blindness of various kinds affects about 7% of men—and less than 1% of women.
There is no known method of correcting colour blindness. However, the vision of most blind-blind people is normal in all other respects.
Crossed eye (strabismus):Strabismus is a general term for eyes that are misaligned and point in different directions. Typically this is seen as crossed-eyes and is almost always accompanied by lazy eye (amblyopia). Your child may have strabismus if:
- Their eyes are crossed
- Their eyes do not move together
- They tend to tilt their head to one side
- They are unable to gauge depth
- They squint into the sun with only one eye
No one knows why some children's eyes are misaligned, although it does seem to run in families. Because misaligned eyes don't focus together, double vision occurs. A young child with strabismus will unconsciously ignore one of the two images they see—and the related nerve connections between their eye and brain will fail to develop. This brings about lazy eye (amblyopia).
In order to develop good vision the affected eye must be made to work. There are several treatments that may be used alone or in combination, depending on the type, severity, and cause of your child's strabismus. They include:
- Glasses
- Eye drops or ointment
- Injected medication
- Surgery
- Patching or covering the better-seeing eye
Diabetic Retinopathy: If you have diabetes, you are in danger of having elevated blood sugar, which can damage the blood vessels in your eyes, potentially leading to diabetic retinopathy.
The damaged blood vessels may leak fluid or bleed, causing the retina to swell, and your vision to become blurred. As the disease progresses, new, fragile blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina. These vessels may break, releasing blood into the vitreous. They may also pull the retina away from the back of the eye. In addition, abnormal blood vessels can grow on the iris, causing glaucoma.
Diabetic retinopathy is never painful—and in fact, you may not have any symptoms at all. Occasionally, if there is fluid retention, your vision might gradually become blurred, and if there is bleeding, your vision might be spotty.
Diabetic retinopathy can be prevented by maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly—to significantly reduce your risk of diabetic eye disease. And get regular eye exams to catch the disease in its early stages, facilitating treatment and preventing complications.
Serious cases of diabetic retinopathy can be treated surgically.
Flashes and floaters:< Flashes are akin to the stars you may see if you have a blow to the eye area. Floaters are small specks or clouds that move across your field of vision—especially when you are looking at a plain background, like a blank wall.
Flashes and floaters are caused primarily because your vitreous gel may shrink, forming tiny clumps inside your eye due to age.
The problem can be minimized by looking up and down to move the floaters out of the way. While some floaters may remain in your vision, many of them will fade over time and become less bothersome. However, if you begin seeing new flashes and floaters you should schedule an eye exam immediately to find out whether your retina has been torn, or if there is another problem that requires medical attention.
Glaucoma: Glaucoma occurs when a build-up of fluid in the eye creates pressure, damaging the optic nerve. It may be caused by a gradual blockage of the canal through which the excess fluid inside the eye typically drains. Glaucoma often starts slowly, exhibiting no symptoms at all until it has caused serious, irreversible damage. It is the primary reason to have regular eye exams after you turn 40. The three common signs of glaucoma are increased intraocular pressure, visual field loss and damage to the optic nerve and nerve fibres.
Sometimes glaucoma sets in rapidly, with blurred vision, severe eye pain, headache, rainbow haloes, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms require immediate intervention.
Prescription eye drops can decrease eye pressure by slowing the production of fluids within the eye or by improving the drainage flow. Glaucoma may also be treated by surgery to prevent or slow further damage.
Lazy eye (amblyopia):Commonly known as lazy eye, amblyopia is poor vision in an eye that does not receive adequate use during early childhood. Amblyopia is often a consequence of one of the eyes not being used, from either crossed eyes (strabismus) or ptosis, which is a drooping of the upper eyelid. It may also be caused by one eye simply having better vision and a child relying on it more heavily.
With early diagnosis and treatment, the sight in the lazy eye can be restored. However, left untreated, the eye may become functionally blind. Treatments include patching or covering the better-seeing eye, contact lenses, glasses or surgery.
Retinal Detachment: When the retina detaches, people experience a painless change in or loss of vision. People sometimes liken it to a grey curtain moving across their field of vision. This change is often accompanied by sparks or flashing lights.
Sometimes—with age—the vitreous gel simply pulls away from the retina. Usually this does not cause a problem, but occasionally it tears the retina, allowing fluid to seep underneath and lift the retina up.
Retinal detachment can be treated quite successfully with surgery.
Macular Degeneration: The macular is part of the eye that enables you to see straight ahead and perform detailed visual work, such as reading. Sometimes, the macular stops functioning properly. This usually occurs as you get older.
In fact macular degeneration is the most common cause of poor sight in those aged over 60. Although it is not painful and does not cause complete blindness, it does block out your central field of vision. This can make it very difficult for you to carry out many everyday activities.
Macular degeneration can develop either quite quickly or gradually. The warning signs are blurred or distorted central vision, sometimes with a blank patch in the middle of your field of vision. Some forms of this disease can be treated by laser, but only in the early stages of their development Hence it is vital that people over the age of 40 have an eye-test at least every two years.
Twitching and tics: Sometimes your eyelid simply twitches. It is rarely uncomfortable—but it can be irritating. Most of all, it can make you wonder if there is really something wrong. Generally, there isn't.
While no one really knows what the cause is, it seems to be related to fatigue or stress. Occasionally insufficient lubrication may also play a role.
Gently massaging the affected eyelid may help the muscle relax, and minimize the twitching.
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