Early detection of open angle Glaucoma is extremely important, because there are no early symptoms. Fortunately, routine eye exams are a major factor in early detection. People with a family history of Glaucoma should be checked at regular intervals in their 30s to establish a baseline. Initially, detection is based often on intraocular pressure readings, but also includes observation of the optic nerve as well as evaluation of optic nerve function using visual field tests.
No. But our suggestion would be to avoid smoking and excessive alcohol, eat a healthy diet, keep your weight down, exercise, take nutritional products and be sure to see your eye specialist on a regular basis.
Doctors usually prescribe special Glaucoma eye drops that reduce intraocular pressure. These are used one or several times a day, depending on the medication. If the drops don't work, surgery may be the next step. In some cases, laser or surgery might be the first option for treatment.
Squint is a misalignment of the two eyes so that both the eyes are not looking in the same direction. This misalignment may be constant, being present throughout the day, or it may be intermitent, appear sometimes and the rest of the time the eyes may be straight.
It is a common condition among children. It may also occur in adults.
The exact cause of Squint is not really known. The movement of each eye is controlled by six muscles. Each of these muscle acts along with its counterpart in the other eye to keep both the eyes aligned properly. A loss of coordination between the muscles of the two eyes leads to misalignment. This misalignment may be the same in all directions of gaze, or in some conditions the misalignment may be more in one direction of gaze, e.g., in Squint due to nerve palsy.
Sometimes a refractive error hypermetropia (long sight) may lead to inward deviation of the eye. Poor vision in an eye because of some other eye disease like cataract, etc. may also cause the eye to deviate. Therefore it is important in all the cases of Squint, especially in children, to have a thorough eye checkup to rule out any other cause of loss of vision.
Under normal circumstances, when both the eyes have good vision and they are aligned properly, they focus on the same object. Each of the eyes sends picture of the same object, viewed from a slightly different angle. These two images reach the brain, where they are fused to form a single three-dimensional picture with depth perception. This is known as binocular single vision.
Under normal circumstances, when both the eyes have good vision and they are aligned properly, they focus on the same object. Each of the eyes sends picture of the same object, viewed from a slightly different angle. These two images reach the brain, where they are fused to form a single three-dimensional picture with depth perception. This is known as binocular single vision.
A child would ignore the image coming from the deviated eye and thus sees only one image. But in the process, he loses the depth perception. This suppression of the image from the deviating eye results in poor development of vision in this eye, which is known as amblyopia.
An adult can not ignore the image from either eye and therefore has double vision. This can be very annoying and may interfere with work.
In a child, the parents may notice the deviation of eyes. It is important to remember that the eyes of a newborn are rarely aligned at birth. Most establish alignment at 3-4 weeks of age. Therefore Squint in any child who is more than one month old must be taken seriously and should be evaluated by an ophthalmologist.
Adults may notice double vision or misalignment of the eyes.
The Squint is diagnosed by the ophthalmologist. He or she would do a few special tests to confirm the Squint, to try and find out the cause and to quantify the amount of deviation. In some cases there may be a false appearance of Squint due to broad nasal bridge in a child. An ophthalmologist will be able to differentiate between a true Squint and false Squint.
The aims of treatment of Squint in order of importance are:
Preserve or restore vision
Straighten the eyes
Restore binocular vision
First of all, the eyes are checked to see if they have any refractive error that may be responsible for Squint. If there is any significant refractive error present, it is treated first. In some cases (accommodative Squint) a correction of refractive error is all that may be required to treat Squint.
Next the eyes are checked for presence of amblyopia. It is important to treat the amblyopia before the surgery for Squint. The parents are explained about the importance of this treatment, as their cooperation is very crucial for the success of this treatment.
In a child, the treatment of Squint and any associated amblyopia should be started as soon as possible. Generally speaking, the younger the age at which amblyopia is treated; the better is the chance of recovery of vision. Remember that the child would never grow out of Squint. A delay in treatment may decrease the chances of getting a good alignment and the vision.
Yes. Surgery can not replace the need for glasses. If the child has significant refractive error, glasses are a must. In some cases wearing glasses may correct Squint. In other cases, wearing glasses help the eyes to see clearly. This clear vision is very important for the treatment of amblyopia and also for maintaining the coordination of eyes, once they have been aligned by surgery.
The central portion of the retina directly opposite the lens, is called the macula. It is rich in cones, the cells which enable us to see fine detail and color. There are three classes of cones, each most sensitive to a different color: red, green or blue.
In macular degeneration, the light-sensing cells of the macula mysteriously malfunction and may over time cease to work. Macular degeneration occurs most often in people over 60 years old, in which case it is called Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD). Much less common are several hereditary forms of macular degeneration, which usually affect children or teen-agers. Collectively, they are called Juvenile heredo Macular Degeneration. They include Best's Disease, Stargardt's Disease, Sorsby's Disease and some others.
When viewing an Amsler grid, some straight lines appear wavy and some patches of the grid appear blank.
When visual acuity is measured with a Snellen chart, visual acuity has typically declined by at least 2 lines (e.g. 20/20 - 20/80) if macular degeneration has occurred.
In dry macular degeneration, drusen spots are evident in fundus photographs (i.e. photographs of the retina).
In wet macular degeneration, when angiography is performed, leakage of the indicator dye into the bloodstream is seen from blood vessels behind the macula.
When an electroretinogram is performed, the electrical signal obtained when a point in the macula is illuminated, is weaker or absent compared to a normal eye.
Visual acuity and color sensitivity are similar for the three primary colors, red, green and blue.
Laser photocoagulation is a technique used by ophthalmic surgeons to treat a number of conditions, including leakage from submacular neovascularizations. The laser beam essentially "cooks" the tissue which is exposed to it. The beam has a very small cross section, which is aimed at a leakage point revealed by angiography. With luck, the cooking, or coagulation, of the cells at the leakage point will stop or slow leakage, hence the progress of macular degeneration caused by the leakage. Only about half of patients with wet ARMD are candidates for laser photocoagulation, because those with occult or subfoveal leakage are not candidates. Also, laser photocoagulation is only effective about half the time it is done as a treatment for wet macular degeneration. When effective, the benefit lasts on the average about one year.
Fluctuating blood sugar levels increase risk for this disease, as does long-term diabetes. Most people don't develop diabetic retinopathy until they've had diabetes for at least 10 years. However, adult onset (type 2) diabetics should be evaluated at the time of diagnosis and every year thereafter, whereas juvenile onset (type 1) diabetics should be evaluated every year after diagnosis.
Keeping your blood sugar at an even level can help to prevent diabetic retinopathy. If you have high blood pressure, keeping that under control is helpful as well. Even controlled diabetes can lead to diabetic retinopathy, so you should have your eyes examined once a year; that way, your doctor can begin treating any retinal damage as soon as possible.
In the early stages of diabetic retinopathy, you might have no symptoms at all or you might have blurred vision. In the later stages, you develop cloudy vision, blind spots or floaters. But never assume that good vision means all is well in the retina. This can be misleading and leads to disaster.
Diabetic retinopathy is classified as either nonproliferative (background) or proliferative. Nonproliferative retinopathy is the early stage, where small retinal blood vessels break and leak.
In proliferative retinopathy, new blood vessels grow abnormally within the retina. This new growth can cause bleeding or a retinal detachment, which can lead to vision loss. The new blood vessels may also grow or bleed into the vitreous humor, the transparent gel filling the eyeball in front of the retina. Proliferative retinopathy is much more serious than the nonproliferative form and can lead to total blindness.
The best treatment is to keep your diabetes under control; blood pressure control also helps. Your doctor may decide on laser photocoagulation to cause regression of leaking blood vessels and prevent new blood vessel growth. If blood gets into the vitreous humor, your doctor might want to perform a procedure called a vitrectomy.
