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Eye diseases can be minor or major. Minor eye problems can be easily treated, they do not last for long. Major eye problems may lead to blindness. Hence, early detection and treatment could help us prevent vision loss. There are many familiar diseases today that lead to loss of vision.
Eye diseases causing blindness are:
Cataracts
Cataracts are clouding of lenses in the eyes. It decreases vision slowly. This may cause trouble during driving, reading, recognizing faces and such other things. Cataracts mostly occur at old ages. At the age of 80, more than half of the count in the world suffers from this disease. The main cause of cataract is due to age, but it may also be caused due to trauma or exposure to radiation. It can also develop due to diabetes, smoking etc. There are around 7.63 million cataract surgeries taking place in India every year. Treatment cost of cataract surgery is cost-effective in India. India is looking forward to eliminating cataract by 2020 latest.
Symptoms:
Blurry Vision
Colors seem faded
Double vision
Night Blindness
Prevention
Avoid smoking
Wearing sunglasses
Treatment for Cataracts
Unifocal Cataract Surgeries
Multi-Focal Cataract Surgeries
Micro-Incision Cataract Surgeries
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disease that damages the optic nerve of the eye leading to blindness. Open-angle glaucoma is most common compared to closed- angle glaucoma and normal tension glaucoma.
Open-angle glaucoma is developed slowly without any pain, resulting in decreased side vision followed by central vision, causing blindness if not treated. Closed- angle glaucoma can happen suddenly; involving pain, redness of the eye, mild-dilated pupil, blurred vision, nausea. Glaucoma shows no symptoms initially unless examined. It cannot be cured, but can be controlled before it leads to blindness using eye drops or eye surgeries. Glaucoma can be hereditary.
Medical researchers have been taking place to find how to protect the optic nerve from damage. Various medicines are yet to be explored to lower the pressure on the eye nerve.
Symptoms
Blurred vision
Sudden sight loss
Severe headache
Pain in the eyes
Prevention
Avoid smoking
Limit Caffeine
Avoid risks of glaucoma by using proper eye drops
Treatment for Glaucoma
Express mini glaucoma shunt
Trabecular meshwork
Canaloplasty
Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), leads to loss of vision. This disease destroys the central vision needed to see objects sharp and clearly. This affects daily sight-related activities like reading, driving, watching television, recognizing faces etc.
AMD affects macula, part of the eye that allows you to see finely. It kills the cells in the macula. The severity is divided into three phases- early, intermediate and late phase. There are two types of AMD wet and dry. These types mainly occur in the late phase of macular degeneration. Wet AMD occurs due to abnormal growth of blood vessels behind the retina. Dry AMD occurs when the light- sensitive cells break-down; gradually blurring central vision slowly. It mainly occurs in older people. It may also be caused due to smoking or genetic factors. Once the vision is lost, there is no cure for returning vision.
Symptoms
Visual field defect
Contrast sensitivity
Poor tolerance to changing light levels
Need for brighter light
Impaired depth perception
Prevention
Eat well
Avoid smoking
Treatment
Injections
Photodynamic therapy (PDT)
Laser Treatment
Diabetic Retinopathy
As the name suggests, diabetic retinopathy is caused because of diabetes. It is also known as diabetic eye disease. It is an ocular manifestation of diabetes. It affects the light-sensitive tissues of the retina at the back of an eye, causing blindness. It has an adverse effect on more than half of the patients diagnosed with diabetes. Hence, diabetes patients are suggested to have eye examination done once a year. 90% of the cases of diabetes can be saved from blindness by proper monitoring and treatment of the eye. Initially, it starts with mild vision problems. If not examined and treated well, may lead to severe effects leading to permanent loss of vision.
Symptoms
Spots in vision
Fluctuating vision
Blurred vision
Impaired color vision
Empty areas in vision
Loss of vision
Prevention
Control over Blood Pressure, and sugar
Avoid smoking
Healthy lifestyle
Treatment
Eye surgeries
Eye injections
Laser treatments
Retinal Disorders
Retina is a layer of tissue in the back of an eye that is responsible for sensing light and sending images to our brain. In the center, there is a nerve tissue called the macula. It provides a sharp central vision that helps to read, write, drive, and perceive minute details.
Retinoblastoma is cancer of the eye. It is an uncommon disease. It affects the cells of the retina. It targets immature cells of the retina and light-detecting tissue of the eye. It can be caused due to a genetic disorder. Mutation of genes in the chromosomes can affect the way in which cells grow and develop within the body, Such alterations can give rise to retinoblastoma. It is mainly found in young children.
Symptoms
Vision problems
Pain in the eye
Bulging of the eye
Varied color of each iris
Redness in the white area of the eye
Bleeding eyes
Prevention
Avoid prolonged exposure to the sun
Avoid smoking tobacco
Avoid exposure to radiations
Treatments
Chemotherapy
Radiation Therapy
Cryotherapy
Laser Therapy
Amblyopia
Amblyopia is a disorder of sight due to eye and brain not working well together. It is also known as lazy eye. It results in decreased vision of the eye sometimes. It occurs due to interference in focusing from childhood. It is difficult to detect and hence, eye testing must be done in early ages for children. Early detection can improve treatment measures.
Symptoms
Poor stereo vision
Poor pattern recognition
Visual acuity
Low sensitivity to contrast and motion
Prevention
Wearing symmetrical nasal sectors
Treatments
Instilling topical atropine
Patching
Conclusion
This article explains about various eye diseases that cause blindness. It also describes their symptoms, preventive measures, and treatments. Our eyes are one of the most important parts of our body. One should take good care of it by undergoing regular checkup to avoid any problems.
