What are common Eye Problems?

Eyes are a very important organ of the human body. Eyes problems cause visual problems. So eye health is much important, and we must take care of our eyes. Some common eye problems are described below along with the causes, symptoms, and treatment.

Refractive Errors

Refractive errors occur when the eyes are unable to focus on the light properly.

Lazy Eye

Lazy eye, also known as amblyopia, when one eye vision doesn't develop properly, and the brain begins to favor the eye with proper vision. This may affect both eyes. This disease may appear in infants, children, and adults.

Color Blindness

In color blindness, you cannot see particular colors. You can't differentiate between them. It happens when your color cells (cones) are not working properly or when your color cells are absent.

Night Blindness

Night blindness implies an eye problem in which a person experiences difficulty in seeing areas with low light or at night.

Cataracts

This is one of the most common eye conditions which may be in adults or babies.

• In adults

Cataracts are commonly classified as a degenerative eye disease because they are commonly found in people having an age of 65 or more.

• In babies

Usually, babies are born with a clear lens. Some babies, when born, have a milky white lens which too opaque and cloudy that it prevents light passing through the lens. Therefore, the object cannot be focused on the retina and clear image cannot be formed. This condition is known as “congenital cataracts.”

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is the condition in which the optic nerve is damaged. It includes all kind of conditions that are connected to damaging of the optic nerve.

Bulging Eyes

Bulging eyes is also known as "proptosis". In this condition, one or both the eyes protrude from the eye sockets and cause more of the cornea to be exposed in the air. Bulging eyes put a lot of pressure on the optic nerve which may lead to blindness.

Retinal Detachment

In retinal detachment, the retina of the eye becomes separated from the back of the eye which means that retina is separated from nerve tissues and the blood vessels beneath them and may lead to vision loss or blindness.

Causes of Common Eye Problems

Different eye conditions have different causes.

Refractive Errors

Causes for refractive errors include:

• Myopia¹ (nearsightedness)
• Hyperopia (farsightedness)
• Presbyopia (lens aging)
• Astigmatism

Lazy Eye

• Lid droop
• Tumor
• Misaligned eyes

Color Blindness

The reasons for color blindness include

• Any kind of disease
• Drugs
• Born with color blindness

Night Blindness

Reasons for night blindness include

• Nearsightedness
• Cataracts
• Keratoconus
• Lack of vitamin A
• By birth

Cataracts

There is no common cause of cataracts in adults as it is considered a natural part of the aging process.

Meanwhile, in babies, the common causes include:

• Heredity
• Infection
• Inflammation
• Drugs reaction
• Pregnancy of mother (maybe measles, rubella or infection)

Glaucoma

Glaucoma often occurs because of severe intraocular pressure.

Bulging Eyes

Causes of bulging eyes include:

• Leukemia
• Hyperthyroidism

Glaucoma

• Grave’s disease
• Fat or tissues behind the eye
• Swelling

Retinal Detachment

• Shrinking of vitreous
• Injury from blunt trauma
• Diabetic eye disease

Symptoms of Common Eye Problems

Each eye problem is characterized by different signs. Have a look:

Refractive errors

• Blurry vision
• Difficulty to work at close range for eyes (such as reading)
• Distorted vision

Lazy Eye

• Vision problems
• Weak sight of the affected eye

Color Blindness

• No sense of color differentiation (particularly red and green)
• Vision in gray shades (severe cases)

Night Blindness

• Difficulty in seeing at night
• Stress on eyes at low light areas
• Eye redness

Cataracts

Cataracts in adults come with the following symptoms:

• Cloudy vision
• Night blindness
• Double vision
• Cloudy film over the natural lens
• Glare from bright light

Meanwhile, in babies, you might see the following symptoms:

• Grey or white cloudiness in the black part
• The eyes appear different in photos

Rapid eye movement

• Glaucoma
• Age
• Race
• Family history
• Paining eyes
• Sickness and vomiting
• Blurriness
• Headaches

Bulging eyes

• Appearance of protruding eyes
• Full lens visibility
• Excessive dryness in eyes
• Eye pain
• Eye redness
• Headache
• Pulsation in bulging eyes

Retinal Detachment

• Blurriness
• Vision like a grey curtain moving in the field of vision
• Disrupted or distorted vision
• Shadows in peripheral vision
• Floaters with flashes

Treatment

Since all eye conditions occur due to different reasons, their treatment also varies. However, common eye problems can be treated in the following manner:

Refractive error

The problem of refractive error can be overcome by:

• Glasses
• Surgery
• Contact lenses

Lazy Eye

Treatment needs to be sought immediately for infants and children. There is no proper treatment so children must be made used to of lazy eye. Other preventions include:

• Contact glasses or contact lenses
• Using a patch

Color Blindness

There is no cure for color blindness. However, some special kind of glasses can help some people tell the difference between different colors.

Night Blindness

People who are born with this can’t be treated, but the causes mentioned above can be treated or fixed by a doctor.

Cataracts

Treatments for cataracts include refractive lens exchange.

Glaucoma

There is no proper treatment for glaucoma, but some treatments can help protect vision and reduce symptoms. These are as follows:

• Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT)
• Micro pulsed Diode Laser Trabeculoplasty (MLT)
• I stent
• Trabeculectomy²
• 12-Month Monitoring Service

Bulging eyes

Treatments for bulging eyes depend on its cause. However, to combat dryness following methods are used;

• Eye drops
• Artificial tears

Retinal Detachment

Treatments for retinal detachment include surgical treatments described below:

• Laser Surgery

Repairs tears in the retina that cause the separation

• Cryopexy

Applies intense cold to the underlying tissue; a scar develops which holds the retina at its place

• Pneumatic Retinopexy

A small gas bubble is placed in the eye which places the retina (accompanied by laser surgery)

• Sclera Buckel

Suturing a silicon “buckle” to the eye that intends the wall of the eye into a position that permits retina to reattach

References:

1. All About Vision - Myopia (Nearsightedness): Causes and Treatment
2. International Glaucoma Association - Trabeculectomy