Eye Diseases: List of Common Eye Disorders

Eye diseases have become a part and parcel of life with the advent of time. Like our other body parts, the eye is equally prone to dangerous diseases. An eye is a organ that is fragile comparative to other human organs. Disorder or malfunctioning of an eye caused due to several factors.

• Being a fragile organ, it may sometimes worsen the situation if eye diseases are left untreated.
• It points out the tissues of the eye is damaged, which in turn leads to loss of vision, partial or complete.
• Research has found that lifestyle and eating habits are major factors for different types of eye diseases.
• Eyes are an extremely important part of the human body and must be taken care of at all costs.

Keyterms: Eye, Disease, Colour, Vision, Colour blindness, Glaucoma, Refractive errors 

Also read: The Human Eye and the Colourful World

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Eye Diseases

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The human eyes are considered to be one of the major sensory organs of our sensory system. Through eyes, human gets the power to see things. 

• 80 per cent of the things that we perceive, come through our sense of sight.
• Eye diseases are referred to as diseases or a disorder that destroy eye tissue and other parts of the eyes.
• There are various types of eye diseases, which can either be minor, that doesn’t last for a longer period of time or some are severe that can also lead to a permanent loss of vision.

Eye Diseases

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Types of Eye Diseases 

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Humans are becoming more and more prone to different types of diseases with passing time. It has been found in a survey that almost one person in a group of every ten people suffers from an eye disease. These diseases vary from person to person and are of various types. 

Some of the common eye diseases are mentioned below as follows:

• Cataract
• Age-related macular degeneration 
• Diabetic retinopathy 
• Glaucoma
• Lazy eye
• Bulging eyes 
• Colour blindness
• Refractive errors 

Cataract

A cataract is a condition of the eye where the vision is reduced. It can be defined as a cloudy and hazy area present in the lens of the human eye. These eye diseases can be commonly found in people as they become older. It ends up making their visionless colourful and cloudy. 

Cataract

Causes

Cataract condition can be a result of many factors such as, 

• Due to ageing
• Radiation therapy
• Regular usage of steroids 
• Smoking tobacco 
• Alcohol intake
• Exposure to sunlight for prolonged hours

Symptoms

Double vision or blurry vision, halos occurring around a light, difficulty in seeing at night, increased sensitivity of the eyes, all of these can be called common symptoms of cataract. 

Treatments

Cataracts can be cured by surgery especially when it becomes difficult to go on about daily activities like reading.

• The surgery process is very safe and reliable.
• Prevention can also be done by wearing anti-glare sunglasses.
• People can also prevent such diseases and make efforts to improve their daily habits like eating green vegetables and avoiding drinking. 

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Age-related Macular Degeneration 

Age-related macular degeneration, also known as AMD, is a condition of the eyes where the retina does not function efficiently.

• This is due to the macula being damaged.
• The macula is a part of the retina.
• It is a very common disease among old people.
• It is also known to affect young children and adults.
• People suffering from this disease may lose their vision completely or partially.
• For example, at the time of looking at a watch, they may see the numbers but not the hands of the watch. 

Age-related Macular Degeneration

Causes

The reasons behind age-related macular degeneration may be as follows, 

• Obesity
• High blood pressure
• Smoking 
• Age and genetics
• Cardiovascular diseases

Symptoms

This disease can be recognized if the persona has following symptoms.

• Blurriness 
• Difficulty in reading words
• Reduced clarity of vision
• Difficulty in less light environments 
• Straight lines appear curvy

Treatments

Age-related macular degeneration is divided into two major categories. These are of two types,

• Dry AMD, and 
• Wet AMD

Both of them require different treatments. For example, a person suffering from Dry AMD can take the help of visual aids for making his eyesight slightly better. Apart from this, there is still no treatment out yet. On the other hand, for Wet AMD, patients need to get their eye injections routinely.

Diabetic Retinopathy 

Diabetic retinopathy affects those people who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

• This is a condition that happens because of damaged blood vessels present in the retina.
• It can lead to complete loss of vision in people.
• This disease may go undetected in many cases.
• Initially, people don't pay attention to the vision problems they have, which worsens this condition more.
• People should keep their medication in check and maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

Diabetic Retinopathy 

Causes

The major cause behind this disease is body being exposed to high sugar content in your blood for a long time.

• This ultimately damages the blood vessels present inside the eyes and thereby cuts off the oxygen supply.
• Eyes create new blood vessels but they are incapable of developing in a suitable manner and leak easily.

Symptoms

Following symptoms appears in this disease condition.

• Hazy or blurred vision
• Loss of vision
• Spots, also known as floaters, float in your vision
• High sugar glucose levels

Treatments

Treatment of a person with diabetic retinopathy largely depends on the type of diabetic retinopathy a person has.

• If person is suffering from mild or early stages of diabetic retinopathy, his condition can be improved by just stabilising the blood sugar levels iin the body.
• Advanced diabetic retinopathy can be dealt with multiple procedures like eye injections, photocoagulation, panretinal photocoagulation, and vitrectomy.
• These treatments won't completely vanish the disease which is why the patients must get regular eye checkups and examinations. 

Glaucoma 

Glaucoma is said to be hereditary. The optic nerve is damaged here, which builds a certain amount of pressure inside the eye.

• Due to the optic nerve being affected, it ends up sending different or blurry images to the brain which is perceived as hazy images.
• Our vision thereby becomes cloudy.
• People are likely to be affected by glaucoma in their old age. It is very crucial to diagnose it immediately. 

Glaucoma

Causes

Genetics or family history of blindness may be a factor behind glaucoma.

• Apart from this certain medications and age factor is also major reason for a person suffering from the disease.
• Eye injuries, infections of the eye, blocked blood vessels inside the eye can all be called important factors. 

Symptoms

Symptoms of the disease only show up after being advanced late in the stage. It is for this reason glaucoma is also known as a “sneak thief of vision”. The symptoms are, 

• Upset stomach
• Cloudy vision
• Loss of vision
• Redness of the eye
• Halos around lights

Treatment

Glaucoma can be treated effectively with atropine eye drops, certain types of oral medication, laser surgery and microsurgery. Research has found that intake of marijuana in considerable amounts can also make or stabilise the condition better.

Lazy Eye

Lazy eyes, more commonly known as amblyopia, is a condition of reduced vision in just one side of the eye.

• The weaker eye or the lazy eye picks up the tendency to move inwards or in an outwards direction.
• It generally affects both eyes and has a good chance of developing in the early stages of life, like from birth till the age of 7 years.

Lazy eye

Causes

The condition of lazy eyes may be caused in a person due to reasons like deficiency of vitamin A, constant dropping of one eyelid or turning of one eye, glaucoma, corneal ulcer, or even eye injuries. Genetics is also known as a common factor leading to this disease.

Symptoms

Below mentioned are the common  symptoms of lazy eye disorder

• Double and hazy vision
• Eyes that don't work together 
• Constant bumping into objects on one side
• Squinting of the eyes
• Inability to perceive depth properly 
• Turning of an eye inwards or outwards

Treatment

Lazy eyes can be treated by the help of eye drops which make us use our weaker eye more.

• Apart from these, eye patches, contact lenses because of farsightedness or nearsightedness can also be used.
• A person having the condition of cross-eyes can get surgery to treat the condition properly. 

Bulging Eyes

When eyes appear protruding out of the eye sockets, it is called bulging eyes. The cornea becomes exposed to light and the amount of lubrication in the eyes gets reduced. This lack of lubrication builds up pressure on the optic nerves so as to function properly. It is a serious condition and may ultimately lead to vision loss. 

Bulging Eyes

Causes

Some types of cancers like neuroblastoma are responsible for damaging the sympathetic nervous system.

• This ends up causing bulging eyes.
• Hyperthyroidism has been reported to be the biggest and foremost reason behind this condition.
• Bleeding because of eye injuries, inflammation of the eyes because of Graves’ disease, Infections of the eye, genetic glaucoma, can all be called as important causes behind bulging eyes.

Read More: Symptoms of Thyroid

Symptoms

Symptoms of this condition involves;

• Redness of eye
• Blurry vision
• Headaches 
• Eyes appear protruding
• Dryness of eyes
• Loss of eyesight
• Bulging of eyes

Treatment

Treatment of this condition actually depends upon the cause of bulging eyes.

• Eye drops are recommended by doctors for providing lubrication to the eyes.
• Medications may also be provided to make the condition better.
• Doctors strongly advise against smoking as it can worsen the case if a patient is suffering from hyperthyroidism. 

Colour Blindness 

Colour blindness is the inability of being able to distinguish between the shades of red and green, shades of blue and yellow, or any colour at all. It becomes extremely difficult for them to identify these colours in day to day activities.

Causes

Colour blindness may be hereditary.

• It may pass down from one family member to another.
• People can also get colour blind if they end up damaging their retina or any other eye injury.
• People with glaucoma also have a higher chance of getting colour blind in the future as in this case, the pressure affects the optic nerve. 

Symptoms

In some cases, depending upon the severity of the condition, people may not be aware that they have colour blindness. It has been found that people who suffer from the disease, may have difficulty in distinguishing,

• Any colour 
• Shades of red and green colour
• Shades of blue and yellow colour

Treatment 

There is no known treatment available for colour blindness. However, people can correct these deficiencies with the help of certain glasses and lenses. 

Refractive Errors 

There are four common types of refractive errors like myopia, presbyopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. These are different kinds of vision problems that may affect people. It becomes difficult for light to penetrate or focus on your retina, ultimately making it difficult to see properly.

Causes

People with large or long eyeballs are known to become prey to myopia.

• In this case, the light rays directly focus on the frontal portion of the retina.
• For people suffering from presbyopia, the main factor is age.
• With more time passing, the lenses present inside the eye lose their flexibility and start to thicken.
• The case of hyperopia is totally opposite to myopia.
• This happens because people's eyeballs are shorter than the usual size.
• This forces the light rays to focus on the backside of the eye rather than the front.
• People suffering from astigmatism have the irregular shape of their cornea.

Symptoms

Following are the symptoms for such medical condition.

• Myopia/nearsightedness - headaches, eye pain, problem in reading road signs, distance vision becomes blurry
• Presbyopia - headaches, straining of eyes, not being able to read properly
• Hyperopia/farsightedness - squinting, headaches, eye strain, fatigue, close distance becomes hazy
• Astigmatism - impaired vision, headaches, eye pain

Treatment 

People with refractive errors can be treated with laser surgery, cylindrical lenses and vision correction.

• There are certain steps that a person can take to lessen the degree of myopia.
• These may be contact lenses or eye drops.

Read More: The Human Eye

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Things to Remember

• Eye diseases have become common now as the time passing.
• There are many types of eye diseases like glaucoma, colour blindness, night blindness, lazy eyes, diabetic retinopathy, bulging eyes, refractive errors and much more. 
• Age-related macular degeneration takes place when the macula present inside the eye stops functioning.
• It worsens with age and can also lead to permanent loss of vision in older people above 60 years of age.
• Diabetic retinopathy happens because of increased sugar levels in the blood for a long time.
• The blood vessels stop functioning efficiently and stop the flow of oxygen to the eyes.
• Spots in vision, cloudy vision are common symptoms of this disease. 
• Colour blindness is genetic disease.
• Previous eye injuries if left untreated may also lead to colour blindness by damaging the retina.
• People diagnosed with glaucoma may ultimately suffer from colour blindness.
• They become incapable of differentiating shades of red and green colour or any colour at all. 
• Symptoms like swelling and redness of eyes, blurred vision, dry eyes, headaches all indicate a person has bulging eyes.
• It has been found that hyperthyroidism is the major factor behind this.
• This condition is treatable by certain eye drops and abstaining from liquor and smoking. 

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