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Ophthalmology

Cataract

Cataract is simply the occurrence of a cloudiness of the eye's natural lens located beyond the iris and the pupil. It is a highly prevalent age-related disease that leads to a slow, painless vision loss. Light can scarcely reach the retina because the usually transparent lens becomes opaque. This causes poor vision, dulled colours and glare sensitivity. Although cataracts are a normal ageing process, they can also result from trauma, medications or other health conditions.

Indications

  • Vision Impairment: The main symptom is a critical loss of vision to the point of getting in the way of everyday tasks such as reading, driving, or enjoying TV.
  • Glare and Halos: Cataracts can be very annoying and a good indicator that they are causing a problem with sight, light sensitivity, and seeing severity around lights, especially at night.
  • Alterations of Colours: With a cataract, colours always seem dull or yellowish; an individual will not realise it until their sight has been considerably enhanced following the surgery.

Effects

  • Improved sight: The most significant impact is the improvement of vision. A person's vision is corrected by removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with a clear artificial lens; this usually improves more than before the cataract formation.
  • Better Quality of Life: The person can see again, thus gaining back his independence and enjoying everyday life. It may result in a substantial increase in the quality of life and decrease the risk of falls.
  • Few Side Effects: Cataract surgery is a common surgery, with the highest success rate. It usually recovers quickly; most individuals get better vision within a few days.

Retinal disease

Retinal diseases are a collection of disorders that afflict the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, which is called the retina. The retina's role is to absorb light and turn it into nerve impulses, transmitting them to the brain to identify the sight. A case of a damaged retina may result in a variety of vision issues. These may be diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and retinal detachment.

Signs of Retinal Disease

  • Blurred / Distorted Vision: One of the main symptoms is a vision alteration, which can be the blurring of the central vision or straight lines being wavy. It is one of the typical symptoms of macular degeneration involving the retina's central region.
  • Floaters and Flashes: Immediate and temporary occurrence of floaters (specks or cobweb-like sight) in vision and sudden flash of light may signify a serious health problem, such as a tear or detachment in the retina.
  • Peripheral Vision: A steady diminishing of peripheral vision that is not realised until later, when it is immensely progressed, may be an indicator associated with a disorder such as retinitis pigmentosa.

Effects of Retinal Disease

  • Loss of Vision: With no treatment, many retinal diseases can cause irreparable damage and complete loss of vision or blindness.
  • Blurred Central Vision: Blurred central vision is a characteristic of macular degeneration, the most active cause of blindness in the elderly and tends to make it hard to see faces, read, or drive.
  • Loss of Independence: Visual impairment due to retinal diseases may have devastating effects on the individual's quality of life, including the loss of independence, an elevated risk of falls and the need for personal care support.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a disease that harms the optic nerve, an essential group of nerve fibres that carries visual information between the eye retina and the brain. This damage is usually caused by excessively high pressure within the eye, referred to as intraocular pressure. Glaucoma can cause blindness due to irreparable loss of eyesight if left untreated. Because initial development presents no symptoms, and the stealing of sight is progressive, it is commonly called the silent thief of sight. Eye examinations are essential for early detection.

Signs of Glaucoma

  • Increased pressure in the Eye: By doing an ordinary eye check-up, an eye specialist can detect pressure in the eye. This is the most frequent signal and a significant risk factor for acquiring the disease.
  • Loss of vision: The disease usually results in the gradual loss of peripheral (side) vision. An individual might not realise this until the situation is advanced and their central vision starts to be compromised.
  • Optic Nerve Damage: An Eye specialist can ascertain characteristic damage to the optic nerve head, which is the key finding in an eye test.

Effects of Glaucoma

  • Irreversible Vision Loss: Worse still, the result is a permanent and irreversible vision loss. As opposed to cataracts, glaucoma causes blindness which cannot be reversed.
  • Reduced Peripheral Vision: Glaucoma typically impacts the peripheral vision initially, causing the vision to be in a tunnel, and making it hard to do activities in spaces, driving, and viewing objects lying to the side.
  • Risk of Blindness: Unless adequate handling is administered, the disease will remain in an ascending line, and hence, an irretrievable loss of sight and blindness will result.

Corneal disease

Corneal diseases involve diseases affecting the cornea, which is the transparent dome-shaped front surface of the eye. The cornea is essential in absorbing light to reach the retina; thus, the ability of the eye to be transparent is vital. Damaged or diseased tissue may cause many symptoms, including blurred vision and intense pain. Infections, traumas, allergies or hereditary disorders may cause them. These conditions can have serious consequences. They can destroy vision and even cause blindness in certain situations.

Signs of a Corneal Disease

  • Pain and Redness: Severe eye pain (which may be reported as a gritty or foreign body feeling to the eye) combined with redness of the eye can be a typical indication of corneal infection or a cracked cornea.
  • Blurred or hazy vision: A loss of clarity in the cornea can defocus incoming light and produce a blurry or cloudy vision as a prominent sign of a corneal dystrophy or oedema.
  • Sensitivity to light: There is a condition called photophobia, or the intense sensitivity to light, which is a signature symptom of most corneal disorders.

Effects of Corneal Disease

  • Loss of Vision: The most significant impact is the result of loss of vision. The cornea may get scarred or opaque, failing to focus light correctly, permanently reducing vision.
  • Corneal Ulcer: An untreated infection may become severe enough to leave a painful and potentially harmful ulcer that can perforate through the cornea and cause blindness or even an eye rupture.
  • Corneal Transplant Indications: When the damage is severe (as it can be in severe cases), there might be no other way to get the vision back but through corneal transplant, which is a type of surgery where the diseased cornea of the deceased replaces the damaged portion of the cornea.

Eyelid and Orbital Disorder

Eyelid and orbital disorders refer to conditions that involve eyelids and the bony socket that surrounds the eye (the orbit). The eyes are protected by the eyelids and the distribution of tears, and the orbit offers a protective outline. In case of injury, disease or congenital disabilities, these structures may compromise a person's vision, health and appearance.

Signs of Eyelid and Orbital Disorder

  • Ptosis: Ptosis is a drooping of the upper eyelid that may interfere with vision, and it is one of the common indications of muscle or nerve damage.
  • Proptosis: Protrusion of one or both eyes, known as proptosis, may be evidence of a tumour, infection or a problem with the thyroid gland.
  • Entropion and Ectropion: Entropion is an inward-turning eyelid which causes lashes to scratch the cornea. Ectropion means the eyelid has turned outwards and will be irritated and dry. The two are clear indicators of eyelid disorders.

Effects of Eyelid and Orbital Disorder

  • Vision Impairment: The ptosis and proptosis can directly obstruct the vision. An eyelid turned inward may result in corneal abrasions, and when turned outward, may result in severe dry eye.
  • Cosmetic Deformity: These ailments may severely change the face of an individual, making them self-conscious, and there is psychological trauma.
  • Risk of Blindness: A severe infection or an orbital tumour may pressure the sight-carrying nerve, the optic nerve, in severe cases, causing permanent loss of sight or blindness.

Ocular neoplasma

Ocular neoplasm is a tumour (benign or malignant) that occurs within the eye or other adjacent structures (eyelids and orbit). Eye cancer is called a malignant tumour. These cancers can arise or start inside an eye (primary) or spread to the eye via a part external to the eye (metastatic), and common primary sites are the breast and the lung. The specialised area dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of such rare conditions is called ocular oncology, which aims to save the life of a patient and their vision in case there are opportunities.

Signs of Ocular Neoplasm

  • Visual changes: A person might undergo various visual experiences such as distorted vision, loss of vision, or even flashing lights, dots or floaters, which are either new or worsening.
  • Visible Signs: The presence of a black, enlarging spot on the iris or conjunctiva or a bulging eye, a growth on the eyelid or in the eye, or a bump on the front of the eye can be signs that are typically visible, which are indicative of the presence of a tumour.
  • Abnormal Reflexes: The pupil of the eye should have a typical or red scene picture at the time of photographing the child, but when a white or yellowish pupil is noted, it is a decisive symptom of a tumour known as retinoblastoma, which appears at an early age.

Effects of Ocular Neoplasm

  • Vision loss: This is the most significant effect, as it could result in partial or complete vision loss. The tumour may also occlude the visual axis, result in a retinal detachment, or destroy the optic nerve, which can cause permanent blindness.
  • Metastasis: Malignant tumours in the eyes may spread to other body parts, commonly the liver and lungs, which is life-threatening.
  • Cosmetic and Psychological Effect: The tumour or the treatment may necessitate eye removal (enucleation) in some cases, which has a severe cosmetic and psychological effect on the patient.

Neuro-ophthalmologic disorder

Neuro-ophthalmologic disorders refer to ailments that occur in the interaction between the eye and the brain. They emerge due to the nervous system, which impacts the eye movements or pupillary reflexes. There are some severe conditions, like tumours, strokes, or multiple sclerosis, associated with these disorders. It is essential to have a thorough examination by a neuro-ophthalmologist, a doctor trained in neurology and eye care.

Symptoms of a Neuro-ophthalmologic Disorder

  • Vision Loss: It is a key sign of unexplained and painless vision loss in one or both eyes that can be sudden or gradual. It is caused by optic neuritis or other problems at the optic nerve.
  • Weird Eye Movements: The patient might have double vision or see as one, have involuntary movements of the eyes (nystagmus) or suffer incapacity to move the eyes in a specific direction. These may be due to a disorder of the various cranial nerves that regulate eye muscles.
  • Abnormalities of the pupil: The pupils may be uneven in size, fail to respond to light, or there may be a drooping eyelid (ptosis), which may be a sign of a neurological issue.

Effects of Neuro-ophthalmologic Disorder

  • Permanent Vision Loss: left untreated and undiagnosed, diseases such as optic neuritis or a compressed optic nerve may cause permanent, comprehensive and incurable blindness.
  • Poor Balance and Mobility: Abnormal eye movements and double vision may lead to dizziness, disorientation, and loss of balance. They may also greatly predispose to falls and disadvantage the performance of everyday tasks.
  • Diagnosis of underlying disease: In many patients with neuro-ophthalmologic disorders, these clinical symptoms prompt the diagnosis of a more severe underlying neurological disease, which is then treated early in the actual disease process.