We are continuing our eye disease series with part II. If you missed the first part about refractive errors, we highly recommend you give it a read as well. As we mentioned in our last article according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ”More than 4.2 million Americans aged 40 years and older are either legally blind (having best-corrected visual acuity of 6/60 or worse (=20/200) in the better-seeing eye) or are with low vision (having best-corrected visual acuity less than 6/12 (<20/40) in the better-seeing eye, excluding those who were categorized as being blind).” That’s why we find it important to talk about all these disorders.
Today we are going to talk about quite a few eye disorders. The first one we are going to discuss in detail is “night blindness”.
Night Blindness:
Sometimes, people can find it hard to see at night, specifically while driving, around dark places such as movie theaters, etc. This condition is called night blindness. It’s actually a symptom and not a disorder itself. Nearsightedness, cataracts, keratoconus, and a lack of vitamin A all cause a type of night blindness that you can get fixed by a doctor.
Some people are born with this problem, or it might develop from a degenerative disease involving the retina, and that usually can’t be treated. If you have it, you’ll need to be extra careful in areas of low light.
Red Eyes:
If you look in the mirror and notice something different about your eyes such as they look bloodshot then you might be suffering from a condition known as red eyes.
The surface of the eyes is covered in blood vessels which expand when they are irritated or infected. This can give you red eyes. There are also other factors that can be at play here such as eyestrain, lack of sleep or allergies, etc. If you were injured in your eyes that can also cause red eyes. It’s always a good move to see your doctor as soon as possible.
Red eyes could also be a symptom of another eye condition such as conjunctivitis aka pinkeye. Red eyes can also be caused by sun damage from not wearing sunglasses while out in the sun.
Lazy Eye:
Lazy eye, or amblyopia, happens when one eye doesn’t develop properly. Vision is weaker in that eye, and it tends to move “lazily” around while the other eye stays put. It’s found in infants, children, and adults, and rarely affects both eyes. The immediate treatment is needed if you are suffering from a lazy eye. Lifelong vision problems can be avoided if a lazy eye is detected and treated during early childhood. Treatment includes corrective glasses or contact lenses and using a patch or other strategies to make a child use the lazy eye.
Cross Eyes (Strabismus) and Nystagmus:
When you look at something your eyes always line up. In some cases, if you are looking at something and they don’t line up you might have strabismus. It’s also commonly known as crossed eyes or walleye.
This problem won’t go away on its own. Sometimes you can go to vision therapy with an eye doctor to help strengthen the weak eye muscles. Often, you’ll likely need to get an ophthalmologist, or eye surgeon specialist, to correct it surgically. You’ll need to get an ophthalmologist, or eye specialist, to correct it.
With nystagmus, the eye moves or “jiggles” all the time on its own.
There are many treatments, including vision therapy to make your eyes stronger. Surgery is also an option. Your doctor will examine your eyes to see which treatment might work best for you.
Colorblindness:
This is one of the most talked-about disorders of eyes. People affected by colorblindness can’t see certain colors or can’t tell the difference between them. Colorblind people usually can’t tell the difference between reds and greens but those are not the only colors they can’t differentiate between. It happens when the color cells in your eye (cone cells) are absent or don’t work.
In its severe form, you can only see shades of gray, but this is very rare. People are mostly born with it. Some people can also get it later in life due to damage to the color cells in their eyes. It can also be caused by drugs and diseases. Men are much more likely to be born with it than women. Your eye doctor can diagnose it with a simple test. There’s no treatment if you’re born with it, but special contacts and glasses can help some people tell the difference between certain colors.
If you are facing any health-related issues or need any assistance you can always contact Kandakacare. Our professional healthcare workers are fully qualified to assist you at home without risking your health.
We publish new and useful articles every week containing highly useful information about the elderly and how to make their lives easier and healthier. If you have an elderly person at home, we advise you to follow our weekly articles on our Kandakacare page and share it with your friends.
