What Causes Glaucoma?

A clear liquid called aqueous humor flows through the eye nourishing the lens, iris, and cornea. When the delicate mesh that forms the drainage system becomes restricted or completely blocked, the liquid continues to flow into the eye and pressure builds up.

It is this build-up of pressure which causes Glaucoma

In a normal eye there is a constant flow of fluid (aqueous humor)
from the inner chamber to the outer chamber.
This fluid is free to drain out of the eye, through the drainage channels
(Canal of Schlemm) at the outer edge of the iris, and return to the veins.
With Glaucoma, the drainage channels are restricted or blocked.

Recognizing the Symptoms

The most common form of Glaucoma, Open Angle, starts gradually and gives no warning symptoms, until a very late stage, when much irreversible damage has been done to the field of vision.

Without treatment it can progress to complete blindness.

A much less common form of Glaucoma, Acute Closed Angle, starts with severe pain in the eye, headache, blurring of vision, halos around sources of light, and darkening at the outer edges of your sight (Peripheral Vision).

This needs immediate treatment.

Where pressure is normal within the eye, vision is clear right to the edges of the field of view.

Increased pressure may lead to darkening at the edges of the field of view (tunnel vision).

How is glaucoma treated?

As a rule, damage caused by glaucoma cannot be reversed. Eyedrops, laser surgery, and surgery in the operating room are used to help prevent further damage, in some cases, oral medications may also be prescribed. With any type of glaucoma, periodic examinations are very important to prevent vision loss. Because glaucoma can progress without your knowledge, adjustments to your treatment may be necessary from time to time.

Who is at risk for glaucoma?

Your ophthalmologist considers many kinds of information to determine your risk for developing the disease.The most important risk factors include:

age;
elevated eye pressure;
family history of glaucoma;
African or Spanish ancestry;
farsightedness or nearsightedness;
past eye injuries;
thinner central corneal thickness;

systemic health problems, including diabetes, migraine headaches, and poor circulation. Your ophthalmologist will weigh all of these factors before deciding whether you need treatment for glaucoma, or whether you should be monitored closely as a glaucoma suspect. This means your risk of developing glaucoma is higher than normal, and you need to have regular examinations to detect the early signs of damage to the optic nerve.

How a Cataract Eye Affects Your Vision ?

Light from an object is broken up as it passes through a cloudy, discoloured lens, causing the image to be blurred and dull.

Symptoms of Cataract

There are Several Symptoms to Indicate Cataract
An early sign is increasing glare from strong sunlight or bright lights at night. This may become quite bothersome and you may notice halos around different light sources such as car headlights.
Colours that are normally bright and vibrant, may appear faded and washed out-especially greens and blues. And most noticeably, your vision will become blurred and hazy, making it difficult to read small print or perform other tasks.
If you experience some or all of these symptoms it is time for you to visit an ophthalmologist.

Better Than Ever

Cataract surgery has undergone tremendous technological advances since the days of your parents or grandparents. This year, millions of patients will choose to have both their vision and their lifestyles restored, thanks to this life-changing medical procedure.

DIABETIC RETINOPATHY :

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes and a leading cause of blindness. It occurs when diabetes damages the tiny blood vessels inside the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. A health retina is necessary for good vision. If you have diabetic retinopathy, at first you may notice no changes in your vision. But over time, diabetic retinopathy can get worse and cause vision loss. Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes.

SYMPTOMS :

1. Blurred vision (this is often linked to blood sugar levels)

2. Floaters and flashes

3. Sudden loss of vision

REMEMBER

If you have diabetes, get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year.
Proliferative retinopathy can develop without symptoms. At this advanced stage, you are at high risk for vision loss.
Macular edema can develop without symptoms at any of the four stages of diabetic retinopathy.
You can develop both proliferative retinopathy and macular edema and still see fine. However, you are at high risk for vision loss.
Your eye care professional can tell if you have macular edema or diabetic retinopathy. Early detection and timely treatment can prevent vision loss.

STAGES OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

Neovascularization, Hemorrhages, "Cotton-wool"spotsBackground Diabetic Retinopathy Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy has four stages:
Mild Nonproliferative Retinopathy. At this earliest stage, micro aneurysms occur. They are small areas of balloon-like swelling in the retina?s tiny blood vessels.
Moderate Nonproliferative Retinopathy. As the disease progresses, some blood vessels that nourish the retina are blocked.
Severe Nonproliferative Retinopathy. Many more blood vessels are blocked, depriving several areas of the retina with their blood supply. These areas of the retina send signals to the body to grow new blood vessels for nourishment.
Proliferative Retinopathy. At this advanced stage, the signals sent by the retina for nourishment trigger the growth of new blood vessels. This condition is called proliferative retinopathy. These new blood vessels are abnormal and fragile. They grow along the retina and along the surface of the clear, vitreous gel that fills the inside of the eye.

What is the best way to correct astigmatism ?

Corrective lenses

Eyeglasses. Eyeglasses are made with lenses that help compensate for the uneven shape of the eye. The lenses make the light bend into the eye properly. ...
Contact lenses. Like eyeglasses, contact lenses can correct most astigmatism. They are available in a variety of types and styles.

Can astigmatism be corrected without surgery?

There are three options to correct astigmatism - glasses, contact lenses or laser eye surgery. Prescription glasses or contact lenses can correct astigmatism (along with long-sightedness or short-sightedness, if necessary). Alternatively, laser eye surgery can correct astigmatism and give you clearer vision.

Can I get my astigmatism corrected ?

Astigmatism, along with short-sightedness and long-sightedness, is a common cause of blurry vision. It's usually corrected with glasses or contact lenses.

Does laser surgery correct astigmatism ?

Yes. Laser eye surgery can fix astigmatism. The process is simple. Ultra-precise lasers are programmed to make the front surface (cornea) of the eye more symmetrical by reshaping it.

What level of astigmatism needs correction?

On a prescription, your eye doctor lists this measurement under "cylinder." Typically, most people have an astigmatism between 0.5 and 0.75 diopters. A measurement of more than 1.5 diopters usually requires contacts or glasses to correct the astigmatism.

How do you reverse astigmatism?

The most common way to treat astigmatism is by recommending corrective lenses. Your doctor will prescribe a particular pair of soft lenses called toric. These contact lenses help to bend more light in a specific direction than the other. In more severe cases, you may require a gas-permeable rigid contact lens.

What makes astigmatism worse?

Astigmatism may be present from birth, or it may develop after an eye injury, disease or surgery. Astigmatism isn't caused or made worse by reading in poor light, sitting too close to the television or squinting.

Why is eye check up important?

Regular eye examinations are important because: having your vision corrected can improve the quality of day-to-day life. they will help detect certain eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, which could lead to sight loss. poor vision could be a risk for falls.

How many types of eye tests are there?

Below are seven types of eye tests that are usually part of a routine eye exam. Each test evaluates a different aspect of your vision and eye health.

What are common eye diseases?

Common Eye Disorders and Diseases : Refractive Errors.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
Cataract.
Diabetic Retinopathy.
Glaucoma.
Amblyopia.
Strabismus.

What is the normal IOP?

Eye pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Normal eye pressure ranges from 10-21 mm Hg. Ocular hypertension is an eye pressure of greater than 21 mm Hg.

What eye disorders are more common in children?

Astigmatism, Farsightedness and Nearsightedness

These three conditions, or refractive errors, are the most common eye problems in children and adults and are most often caused by abnormalities in the surface of the eye that prevent light from properly being focused on the retina.

Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) :

A child can get amblyopia when they do not get treated for problems like refractive errors, strabismus (misaligned eyes), droopy eyelids or cataracts.

Strabismus (Crossed Eyes) :

Strabismus (misaligned or crossed eyes) happens in about 4 percent (4 out of 100) children. One eye may look straight ahead while the other turns in, out, up or down. Strabismus needs to be treated as soon as possible. Without strabismus treatment, the brain may ignore the crossed eye to avoid double vision.

"Cloudy" Eyes May Mean Cataracts :

A child's eyes can appear cloudy if they have a cataract. This is when the normally clear lens inside the eye gets cloudy. Older people mostly get cataracts, but some children are born with them or get them from an injury. Most children need surgery to remove a cataract and see clearly again.
Very rarely, a cloudy eye can be a sign of retinoblastoma (cancer of the retina, or back wall of the eye). Your child's doctor checks for this at each exam.

Does LASIK cause problems later in life?

He estimates that roughly 80% of the post-LASIK patients he's treated for complications initially felt satisfied after their surgery but developed problems sometime later. "Most of the patients I saw developed complications four to six months after getting LASIK; others at a year or longer," he said.

Why you should not get LASIK?

Patients with autoimmune diseases are not good Lasik candidates. Many autoimmune conditions cause dry eye syndrome. A dry eye may not heal well and has a higher risk of post-Lasik infection. Other conditions such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, glaucoma, or cataracts often affect Lasik results.

How long does LASIK take to heal?

Most patients see clearly within 24 hours after vision correction surgery, but others take two to five days to recover. Some patients may experience some blurred vision and fluctuations in their vision for several weeks after LASIK.

Will I need glasses after LASIK?

If you are nearsighted, or you can see clearly up close but not far away, LASIK may cause you to lose some of your ability to see up close earlier than usual. Similarly, if your vision is fully corrected for distance, you are more likely to need reading glasses once presbyopia develops.