Millions of people worldwide simply do not have the good fortune of enjoying perfect eye health; they suffer from one or the other of the several common eye disorders such as vision disorders, age-related eye disorders, or eye disorders caused by serious medical problems such as hypertension or diabetes.
Signs of major disorders first become visible in the retina of the eye before their symptoms become visible in the body. You may feel that there is absolutely nothing wrong with your eyes, but this doesn’t mean that you can stay away from comprehensive eye exams. In fact, depending on a wide range of factors such as age, medical history, genetic history, and others, you need to undergo regular eye checkups.
Here is a list of common eye disorders:
Vision Disorders
Millions of people worldwide require contact lenses or eye glasses to correct vision disorders. Some of the most common vision disorders are myopia or nearsightedness, hypermetropia or farsightedness, astigmatism or distorted vision, and presbyopia or an age-related vision disorder.
The above mentioned vision disorders can be easily cured by minor surgery or corrective eyewear prescribed by a certified optometrist or eye care specialist.
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
Also known as macular degeneration, AMD is an age-related eye disorder in which the macula or the center of the retina is seriously affected. Senior citizens can either develop dry AMD or wet AMD.
Wet AMD is the condition in which abnormal blood vessels grow in the macula, causing bleeding and scarring and quick loss of vision. Dry AMD is the condition in which the macula becomes thinner and thinner, leading to vision loss.
Drusen, one of the earliest and most common signs of dry AMD, is a white or yellow deposit on the retina. Drusen in small quantities is normally observed in people above sixty, but it doesn’t lead to vision loss. There is cause for concern only if the quantity of drusen in the area of the retina is more.
Cataract
Cataract is the condition in which the otherwise crystal clear lens gets cloudy, leading to loss of vision or even blindness. One can develop cataract irrespective of age, and sometimes it even occurs in a newborn infant.
Diabetic Retinopathy (DR)
DR is an eye disorder that diabetic patients need to be wary of as it can cause irreversible loss of vision if neglected. Progressive damage of retinal blood vessels is the major sign of DR, and it usually affects both eyes.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a medical term used to refer to a group of eye disorders that damage the optic nerve and cause loss of vision or even blindness. It is characterized by increase in intraocular pressure, but recently, doctors have found out that even people with normal intraocular pressure can suffer from glaucoma.
Amblyopia
Also known as lazy eye, Amblyopia is a common vision disorder in kids, caused by the inability of the brain and the eye to coordinate in the seeing process. Although the eye looks perfectly normal, it does not behave in a normal way.
Strabismus
Strabismus is an eye disorder that is caused by lack of coordination between the two eyes, owing to which they cannot focus on one point at the same time and look in different direction. This leads to defects in perception and, ultimately, the brain will ignore messages that come from one eye, leading to complete loss of vision in that eye.
Floaters
We normally see dots, specks, and threads floating before our eyes. When seen in small numbers, floaters are nothing to worry about; however, if you start seeing too many floaters, you need to fix an appointment with your ophthalmologist. Floaters are sometimes accompanied by flashing lights, which means that the person seeing the floaters is on the way to a retinal detachment.
Retinal Detachment
Retinal detachment is a condition in which the retina separates from the wall of the eye at the back, almost like wallpaper coming off the wall. The detached portion of the retina fails to function properly, owing to which the retina is unable to send the correct visual messages for the brain to decipher. This leads to faulty vision or total loss of vision. Retinal detachment can be cured through surgical procedures.