Diseases & Disorders

Parents are usually the first to notice that their children may have special vision needs, so if you have any concerns about your child’s vision, don’t hesitate to talk to your pediatrician or health care professional. 

It is important that your eyes stay healthy because you’ll need good vision for just about every activity you choose—and you want to keep your 20/20 vision for many years to come. When you see well, you can perform well—on the ball field, in class, behind the wheel or at your desk. That’s why it’s important to take a few simple steps to make sure you keep your eyesight at its best. 

Generally, changes in your vision now are just a factor of aging. If you experience any of the issues below, you may have the early warning signs of a more serious problem. In all cases, early detection and treatment can keep your vision strong—so see your eye care professional to be sure that your eyes are healthy, or to begin treatment and to check for developing conditions.

Many eye diseases have no early symptoms. They may be painless, and you may see no change in your vision until the disease has become quite advanced. Only your eye care professional will be able to tell if you have an eye condition and options to care for your eyes.

A person with shortsightedness can see close objects clearly, but may have trouble seeing objects from a distance – like a road sign, blackboard, or face across the room. It’s a common condition, affecting 1 in 4 adults worldwide.

Contrary to what the name implies, a person who is longsighted has blurred vision when looking at close objects, unless they make a constant effort to focus, which can lead to strain, headaches, and eye fatigue.

Astigmatism is a common vision condition that happens when a person's cornea is not symmetrical. A normal cornea is round like a baseball. With astigmatism, the cornea curves more severely, like a rugby ball.

Presbyopia is a natural occurrence where near vision becomes blurred, making it hard to focus while doing things like reading, using a mobile phone, or working on the computer. It is not a disease or illness; in fact, it is very common with age.

If you’ve been diagnosed with Age-related Macular Degeneration (commonly abbreviated as AMD), you’re not alone. It is estimated that as many as 16 million people in the United States have AMD. In fact, it’s a leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 65.

Bulging eyes, or proptosis, occurs when one or both eyes protrude from the eye sockets due to space taking lesions such as swelling of the muscles, fat, and tissue behind the eye. This causes more of the cornea to be exposed to air, making it more difficult to keep eyes moist and lubricated. In extreme cases, bulging eyes can create a large amount of pressure on the optic nerve, potentially leading to vision loss.

The eye's natural crystalline lens helps us focus on people and things at varying distances. Unfortunately, as we grow older this lens often stiffens and hardens, and without its youthful suppleness it loses its ability to focus, creating vision problems. This condition — for most, a natural consequence of aging — is called presbyopia.

Normally, babies are born with a transparent lens in each eye. The lens focuses objects on the retina, and it brings objects into focus, making it possible for the eye to see, Instead of a transparent lens, some babies are born with a milky white lens, which is too cloudy to focus on objects. This condition is called congenital cataracts. The opaque lens keeps light from passing through to the retina, so images and objects cannot be seen.

Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a complication of diabetes caused by fluid accumulation in the macula, or central portion of the eye, that causes the macula to swell.

CMV retinitis is an infection that attacks the light-sensing cells in the retina. It is a serious disease that should be diagnosed and treated
immediately, because it can lead to loss of vision, and in the worst cases, blindness.

Nearly all people who are “color blind” can see colors but have difficulty distinguishing between certain colors. Not all people who are color blind have trouble with the same colors – most cannot distinguish between reds and greens; some cannot separate blues from yellows; and a very small group have a condition called monochromatism which only allows them to see black and white.

Crossed eyes (or strabismus) occur when a person’s eyes are not able to align on the same point at the same time, and appear to be misaligned or pointed in different directions.

You've probably heard that the herpes simplex virus (HSV) can cause open sores on the face and genitals but did you know the infection can be transferred to the eye(s)? This viral infection is called herpetic keratitis and can cause open sores (or eye ulcers) on your eyes. There are two major types of HSV:

Keratoconus is a condition that results from an irregularly shaped cornea, which prevents light from focusing correctly on the retina. In keratoconus, the normally round cornea becomes thin and more cone-shaped, causing blurred vision and sensitivity to bright lights.

Eye floaters are tiny spots, specks, lines or shapes that enter into your field of vision, appearing to float in front of the eye. They may seem like
distant objects, but they are actually the shadows of cells and fibers inside the vitreous, or gel-like portion of the eye.

Glaucoma occurs when a build-up of fluid creates pressure in the eye, which then damages the optic nerve. The optic nerve is responsible for the transmission of information from your eyes to your brain, and damage associated with it can lead to severe vision loss, and in the worst case, blindness.

Amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye, occurs when there is a lack of vision in one eye because the eye and the brain are not working together. The brain may start to ignore the image from the amblyopic eye. Amblyopia normally only affects one eye - resulting in the amblyopic eye appearing "lazy". It is often associated with strabismus , or crossed eyes , when an individual’s eyes appear directed toward two different points instead of one.

Ocular hypertension occurs when the pressure in the eye (known as intraocular pressure) is above the range considered normal (often defined as above 21 mm Hg). It is distinguished from glaucoma, a more serious eye condition, in that there are no detectable changes in vision, no evidence of visual field loss, and no damage to the optic nerve. Patients diagnosed with ocular hypertension have an increased risk of developing glaucoma.

Retinal detachment occurs when the retina becomes separated from the nerve tissues and blood supply underneath it. While painless, visually this has a clouding effect that has been likened to a gray curtain moving across the field of vision.

Sometimes your eyelid simply twitches. It is rarely uncomfortable and does not affect your vision-- but it can be irritating. Most of all, it may make you wonder if there is really something wrong. Generally, there isn't.

Low vision is a term that refers to vision 20/70 or worse that cannot be fully corrected by glasses or contact lenses. People with low vision generally
fall into two groups: partially sighted (meaning they have a visual acuity between 20/70 and 20/200 with the aid of corrective lenses), and legally blind (meaning vision is no better than 20/200 with regular correction aids).

Uveitis is an inflammation of the uvea (or uveal layer) – the middle layer of three that make up the eye. It may be infectious or noninfectious. It is
a treatable condition; however, without proper treatment, it can lead to other complications including glaucoma, cataracts, optic nerve damage, retinal detachment and severe vision loss.

You will find that every year, multiple national and international eye institutes, health organizations, opticians, universities, and NGOs combine efforts to create awareness about the overall effects of Glaucoma.

Our eyes are highly complex and sensitive organs. If you want your eyes to be healthy and enjoy a colorful and vibrant life, you need to take good care of them. Some simple things to take care of your eyes are frequently blinking, eating foods rich in Vitamin A (such as carrots), and taking adequate sleep.

Color blindness, also known as color vision deficiency, is a condition in which you cannot perceive colors the way most people do ^[1] Most people are capable of perceiving a million different hues and colors.

You’d have to agree that there’s nothing worse than struggling to concentrate through the day because your eye twitches won’t just go away. You realize what we’re talking about – the involuntary