Your eyes allow you to visually experience the world. They also communicate to others how you feel. Health wise and otherwise.
Some will never experience the benefit of sight. While others lose it on down life’s road. And a number of eyes lost to darkness could’ve been avoided with perceptive attention.
There are numerous causes and types of eye health and vision problems, diseases and disorders. Here’s a compiling of many of those conditions, plus a word or two concerning most:
- brain tumor
- stroke or TIAs
- bleeding into eye
- corneal abrasions
- Horner’s syndrome
- amblyopia ~ lazy eye
- myopia ~ nearsighted
- hyperopia ~ farsighted
- diplopia ~ double vision
- proptosis ~ eye bulging
- ptosis ~ drooping eyelid
- cataracts – clouded lenses
- keratitis ~ corneal infections
- refractive error ~ blurred vision
- blepharitis ~ eye inflammation
- shingles ~ can cause eye issues
- tumor ~ any part of eye or socket
- blepharospasm ~ type of dystonia
- jaundice ~ sclera becomes yellow
- dyschromatopsia ~ color blindness
- presbyopia ~ age related blurriness
- retinopathy ~ eye blood vessel disease
- eye infections ~ bacteria, fungi, viruses
- light sensitivity ~ pain from bright lights
- allergies ~ commonly caused by pollen
- blind ~ partial or complete loss of vision
- floaters ~ dark microscopic fiber specks
- conjunctivitis ~ eye infection, aka pink eye
- diabetic eye disease ~ caused by diabetes
- dry eyes ~ decreased tear gland production
- astigmatism ~ cornea more oval than round
- keratoconus ~ progressive thinning of cornea
- retinal disorders ~ back of eye nerve problems
- ocular rosacea ~ occurs with rosacea of the skin
- optic nerve disorders ~ damage causes vision loss
- strabismus ~ cross eyed, inability to align both eyes
- age-related macular degeneration ~ center vision loss
- subconjunctival hemorrhage ~ broken eye blood vessel
- intraocular melanoma ~ cancer cells form in eye tissue
- glaucoma ~ optic nerve damage from too much pressure
- migraine headaches ~ spots of light, halos, zigzag patterns
- nystagmus ~ eyes make repetitive, uncontrolled movements
- night blindness ~ pupils dilate slowly & take longer to adjust
- temporal arteritis ~ brain artery inflammation that supplies optic nerve
- detached retina ~ floaters, light flashes, shade on one side of vision field
- itchy eyes ~ usually allergies, can be infection, lice, other parasite infestation
- optic neuritis ~ infection, multiple sclerosis causing optic nerve inflammation
- ophthalmic migraine ~ spots of light, halos, zigzag patterns without a headache
- sarcoidosis ~ eye pain, redness, itching, burning, vision problems, yellow bumps
A portion of these eye and vision problems are inconsequential or fleeting. However, a few can lead to an everlasting loss of vision.
Any changes in your eyes’ appearance or vision always needs further investigation because it can indicate a serious eye health issue. Some symptoms to keep your eye on include:
- eye pain
- black spots
- light flashes
- double vision
- fluid drainage
- iris color change
- blotted out vision
- abrupt vision loss
- distorted, wavy lines
- center vision dark spot
- near, far focusing difficulty
- peripheral vision deficiency
- sudden hazy, blurred vision
- red, crusty, swollen eyelids
- excess tearing, watery eyes
- dry, itchy, burning, red eyes
- frequent pain in, around eyes
- halos, rainbows around lights
- trouble adjusting in dark rooms
- seeing spots, ghost appearing images
- squinting, blinking due to light sensitivity
Don’t delay in having any unusual seeing analyzed by a healthy eyes professional, aka ophthalmologist .
Treatment for an eye health problem, disease, disorder or condition depends on its cause. There are several forms of eye treatment, like:
- surgery
- glasses
- patching
- eye drops
- laser therapy
- vision therapy
- radiation therapy
- diet/supplements
- plaque radiotherapy
- photodynamic therapy
- corticosteroid eye drops
Eye drops may contain medications that treat eye conditions or relieve eye discomfort. This form of eye treatment has various uses, serving as:
- infection treatment
- anesthetics to reduce eye pain
- artificial tears soothes irritated, dry eyes
- eye drops to dilate pupils to allow inside your eye examination
- decongestant eye drops whitens eyes by constricting blood vessels
- corticosteroid eye drops for treating certain conditions, reduces eye’s ability to fight infection & repair injury, long term use can lead to glaucoma, cataracts
You can lower your risk of eye disease and vision loss by:
- staying active
- consuming healthy foods
- controlling blood pressure
- wear sunglasses to limit sun’s ultraviolet rays
Research shows that some antioxidants and ingesting a healthy diet protects against the development and progression of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. Also, omega-3 fatty acids may protect against retinal wear and orange colored vegetables, which are high in vitamin A, are important for healthy sight.
See your eye health professional for regular checkups because not all eye diseases give off symptoms. An eye exam detects differing types of eye problems, disease, disorders and conditions at their earliest stage.
