Eye Disorders - Research Paper Example

?Eye Disorders Eyes are such an important organ of the human body that define the charm of one’s personality. It is considered as the gateway to the world and it determines one’s independence. Without healthy eyes and good vision, one is forced to be dependant on someone else. Therefore, eyes with good vision define the quality of life. It is a common belief that the vision of eyes starts deteriorating while growing old. But loss of vision need not necessarily be a consequence of ageing. Sometimes it occurs as a result of certain infections as well. To identify the eye infections in time, one needs to consult a doctor when they feel the slightest discomfort. It is also recommended to make a habit of annual eye check ups. This can help in detecting and curing many eye disorders such as cataract, glaucoma, colour blindness, Diabetic Macular Edema, Uveitis etc. Thus, undergoing regular eye check ups can give an individual hints about the levels of his or her blood pressure, cholesterol, risk of heart disease and stroke as well. Hence, it is essential to have a regular eye check up. Keeping this in mind, in ountries like India, many eye camps are being organized as the part of the rural health programs to make this facility accessible to the poorer sections of society. Many private organizations have also undertaken initiatives with this regard. WHO estimates show “that over 161 million people in the world are visually impaired due to eyes diseases, of whom 37 million are blind and 124 million have low vision. 75% of the blindness is preventable or curable” (WHO, 2007, p. 63). The following section consists of detailed description of five major diseases that affect the eyes.. This list of commonly found eye disorders include cataract, glaucoma, colour blindness, Diabetic Macular Edema, Uveitis Cataract: Cataract is typically a vision disorder, which occurs as a result of clouding of the lens in the eye. In most cases, it can be seen that cataract is associated with ageing. “A cataract can occur in either or both eyes. It cannot spread from one eye to the other. By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery” (The National Eye Institute, 2009, p. 1). Discussing about the clinical conditions of cataract, it is a gradual change that takes place in the eyes, in terms of vision. As the result of ageing, the lens inside the eye tends to change and will have less clarity, and eventually the lens becomes cloudy. “A lens that has turned misty, or cloudy, is said to have a cataract” (RNIB and RCOphth, 2011, p.4). Without giving proper attention, a cataract can get worse in time. Different types of cataracts include secondary cataract, traumatic cataract, congenital cataract and radiation cataract. Secondary cataract is usually developed after some eye infections such as glaucoma, while traumatic cataract is the one which is developed after an injury to the eye. Radiation cataract, on the other hand, is the result of exposure to radiation, whereas, congenital cataract is seen in new born babies and is developed just before or after birth. This needs to be addressed in a different way than that of cataract in adults. There are certain symptoms through which one can acknowledge him or her having a cataract. The most common symptoms of a cataract are “cloudy or blurry vision, colors seem faded, glare, poor night vision, double vision or multiple images in one eye and frequent prescription changes in your eyeglasses or contact lenses” (The National Eye Institute, 2009, p. 1). Generally, a cataract can be detected through a comprehensive eye test, which includes visual activity test, dilated eye exam and tonometry. It is a misconception that cateract is age related. Age related cataract mainly occurs in middle age that is 40 s and 50s. If it occurs at middle age, it does not affect the vision of the person. However, the vision will be damaged when cataract occurs after 60. The risk factors for cataract include diabetes, prolonged exposure to sunlight, unhealthy personal behaviours such as smoking and alcohol use etc. It is a fact that the risk of getting cataract increases as you grow old. Age related cataract can reduce the sharpness of the image reaching the retina and the lens can become yellowish brown. In terms of the treatment for cataract, surgery is the only way to cure this disorder. Through surgery, the cloudy lens can be replaced with an artificial lens implant. The surgery is a fast one and only requires less than an hour. The common types of cataract surgery are Phacoemulsification and Extracapsular surgery. This is performed by giving the patient a simple anaesthesia. The patient has to then undergo an eye test after the operation so as to ensure the success of the surgery, and he or she is also given eye drops to prevent infection and swelling. Generally Cataract surgeries are succesfull, however, there are some complications. These complications include “reduced vision (because of the tearing performed in lens membrane), loss of all or part of cataract and bleeding inside the eye” (Moorfields Eye Hospital, n.d., p. 6). Sometimes other complications such as “infection following cataract surgery, inflammation of the eye, blurring of the central vision, distorted vision and shadow, lights or floaters in your field of vision” may also occur (Moorfields Eye Hospital, n.d., p. 6). Glaucoma: Glaucoma is a serious and complicated infection in eye which results in impairment of vision. It is a group of diseases that can damage the eye's optic nerve and result in vision loss and blindness. It is one of the main causes of blindness in the United States. However, with early treatment, one can often protect his or her eyes against serious vision loss. Therefore, it is very important that it be diagnosed. In glaucoma patients, “the damage to the optic nerve leads to progressive, irreversible vision loss. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness according to the World Health Organization.It is estimated that over 2.2 million Americans have glaucoma but only half of those know they have it. Glaucoma is not curable, and vision lost cannot be regained. With medication and/or surgery, it is possible to halt further loss of vision” (Glaucoma Research Foundation, 2013, p. 1). Commonly found glaucoma is open angle glaucoma. “The cause is unknown. An increase in eye pressure occurs slowly over time. The pressure pushes on the optic nerve. This type of glaucoma tends to run in families” (Vorvick, 2013, p. 1). Generally there are no signs associated with the disease. So it is necessary to have regular eye checkups to detect glaucoma. It can occur hereditarily as well. If not treated, this disorder can cause total blindness. Risk of getting glaucoma occurs at the events of high pressure inside the eye. But glaucoma can be developed without an increased eye pressure as well. This is known as low-tension or normal-tension glaucoma. It is not as common as open-angle glaucoma. Apart from this two, there are other forms of glaucoma as well. They include angle-closure glaucoma, congenital glaucoma secondary glaucoma and pigmentary glaucoma. In the angle closure glaucoma, “the fluid at the front of the eye cannot reach the angle and leave the eye. The angle gets blocked by part of the iris. People with this type of glaucoma have a sudden increase in eye pressure. Symptoms include severe pain and nausea, as well as redness of the eye and blurred vision” (National Eye Institute, 2013, p. 1). Congenital glaucoma is seen in new born babies and in this condition, with birth, there will be a defect in the angle of the eye that slows the normal drainage of fluid. The symptoms include cloudy eyes, sensitivity to light, and excessive tearing. Glaucoma can occur as a result of certain medical conditions and this type of glaucoma is termed as secondary glaucoma. A type of glaucoma known as Pigmentary glaucoma occurs when “iris flakes off and blocks the meshwork, slowing fluid drainage” (National Eye Institute, 2013, p. 1). Another severe form of glaucoma is known as neo-vascular glaucoma. Pigmentary and neo-vascular glaucoma is considered as coming under secondary glaucoma type.This is associated with diabetes and is caused by trauma, systematic infections and due to the use of drugs such as corticosteroids. The treatment for glaucoma constitutes medicines, laser trabeculoplasty, conventional surgery etc. Focus is given to reduce eye pressure in any mode of treatment. Sometimes a combination of these two surgery is also performed. These treatments can save the vision of the patient. But it will not help people in regaining the sight which is already lost in glaucoma. Hence, it is advisable to have a complete eye exam before age 40 if one has risk factors for eye problems. Colour Blindness: Colour Blindness is characterized by the inability to see certain colours in usual way. Generally, colour blind people have difficulty to see certain colours as normal people. The colours which colour blind people find difficulty in recognizing include green, yellow, orange and red. Scientifically, it is known as Colour Vision Deficiency. It is perceived that “ Colour blindness is inherited and is caused by a lack of specific colour-sensitive cells in the eye. More boys than girls are affected by colour blindness. It affects approximately 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women in the world. In Britain, this means that there are approximately 2.7 million colour blind people (about 4.5% of the entire population), most of whom are male” (Colorblind Awareness Program 1950). Colour Blindness can also occur as the result of some medication, diabetes and multiple sclerosis or with aging. Commonly found colour blindness includes red/green colour blindness, Protanopia, protanomaly (red deficiencies) Deuteranopia or deuteranomaly (green deficiencies), Tritanopia (blue deficiencies) and Rod monochromacy or achromacy (no color). Red-green deficiencies are the commonly known type of colour blindness. It is not implied that in this condition people cannot see reds or greens. Rather they have a difficulty in differentiating them. “There is some evidence that people with red-green color-blindness see reds and greens as yellows, oranges and beiges. This means that yellows, oranges, and beiges can be confused with greens and reds. The colors least affected are the blues” (Web Accessibility in Mind, 2013, p. 1). In people having red deficiencies, the colour receptors in the eyes of people with protanopia are not sensitive to see long wavelengths such as reds. Red appears darker and green are almost similar like red for them. Green deficiencies are also known as Deuteranopia and deuteranomaly. The cones of the people having this disease are not sensitive to absorb medium wavelengths. As a result , the red does not appear darker as green. In spite of this problem, the people with this deficiency can distinguish the shadows of red and green in a relative accurate way. Blue deficiency otherwise known as Tritanopia is less popular. People with this disease do not have the ability to see colours with short wave length. Hence they have problem in recognizing blue. They tend to get confused with blue and green. Another type of deficiency is Rod Monochromacy or achromacy. The cones of the eye are non-functional. Hence they just have to depend on rods for visual information. Differntiating between light and dark is only possible for them. They just can see white, black and some shades of grey. The cases of this type of colour blindness have rarely been reported. It is also important to get familiarized with the symptoms of colour-blindness in children. Difficulties faced by Children with colour-blindness includes “difficulty in recognizing and identifying different colours beyond the age of around four years and inability to separate things by their colour” (Better Health Channel, 2013, p. 1). Kids with this deficiency many have problem with colour coding. In such cases it is recommended to have a routine colour vision check during the early schooling. Generally there is no treatment available for curing colour blindness. However, some tinted filters as well as contact lenses may help people in distinguishing different colours. Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) generally is a consequence of diabetes and is caused because of the fluid deposits either in macula or in some central portion of eye. “DME occurs when blood vessels in the retina of patients with diabetes begin to leak into the macula, the part of the eye responsible for detailed central vision. DME is the major cause of vision loss in people with diabetic retinopathy. People with diabetes have a 10 percent risk of developing the condition during their lifetime. Alimera estimates that close to one million people in the United States alone currently have DME and approximately 300,000 new cases develop annually (Alimera Sciences, 2013, p. 1). People with diabetes needs to be given proper care to avoid the possibilities for DME. Statistics supports this. “The ophthalmic complications of diabetes are the leading cause of blindness in adults aged 20 to 74 in the US. Diabetic retinopathy has been estimated to cause 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness annually in the US.. Unfortunately, as many as 30% to 40% of Americans with diabetes are currently undiagnosed and are not being monitored and treated to control their disease and prevent systemic complications” (Medscape, LLC, 2013, p. 1). DME patients do not experience any pain. But the vision will be blurred. There are cases with mild vision loss to complete loss of vision. In most developing countries, it is accepted as the cause of vision deterioration among the working population. Before discussing the treatment, it is necessary to know the types. This includes Focal macular edema which is the result of the vascular abnormalities and Diffuse macular edema, an onset of dilated capillaries in the retina. Eearly detection is critical while discussing treatment. Not much treatment is avaible for this except laser photocoagulation and virectomy. Studies support that “the currently available interventions for DR/DME are laser photocoagulation and vitrectomy, only target advanced stages of disease. Several biochemical mechanisms, including protein kinase C–? activation, increased vascular endothelial growth factor production, oxidative stress, and accumulation of intracellular sorbitol and advanced glycosylation end products, may contribute to the vascular disruptions that characterize DR/DME” (Rechtman, Harris & Ciulla, 2007, p. 1). Uveitis is typically an inflammatory disease occurring in eyes i.e. inflammation at uvea, which is thethe middle layer of the eye. A uvea has iris, choroid and ciliary body. Commonly known uveitis is the inflammation happening at iris and is known as iritis. This disorder is serious. Infections, injuries and auto immune disorders add to the risk of getting affected with Uveitis. The signs, symptoms and characteristics of uveitis include “eye redness, eye pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision, dark, floating spots in the field of vision, decreased vision and Whitish area (hypopyon) inside the eye in front of the lower part of the colored area of the eye (iris)” (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2013, p. 1). It is necessary to get educated on the type of uveitis through available good documentations. The part of the eye infected defines the type of uveitis. Discussing them in detail is necessary. “Iritis affecting the front of your eye is also called as anterior uveitis. This is the most common type of uveitis. Iritis usually develops suddenly and may last six to eight weeks. Some types of anterior uveitis can be chronic or recurrent.If the uvea is inflamed in the middle or intermediate region of the eye, it is called pars planitis (or intermediate uveitis). Episodes of pars planitis can last between a few weeks to years. The disease goes through cycles of getting better, then worse.Posterior uveitis affects the back parts of your eye. Posterior uveitis can develop slowly and often lasts for many years.Panuveitis occurs when all layers of the uvea are inflamed” (American Academy of Ophthalmology, 2013, p. 1). The reason of uveitis is not yet fully explored and is still being researched. Still some experts hint about some possible causes “Uveitis has many potential causes, including viral, fungal, bacterial, or parasitic infections. It may be associated with systemic diseases or develop following an injury to the eye” (Cleveland Clinic, 2013, p. 1). If not treated well, uveitis can result in complications such as glaucoma, high pressure inside the eye, optical nerve damages, cataract, vision loss and some retinal problems as well. Since this eye disorder is serious and can damage the eye sight permanently, proper care should be given. For the uveitis, which is non infectious, eye drops containing steroids are prescribed for reducing swelling and a dilating drop for pain relief. Antibiotics are prescribed for the patients with infectious uveitis. Dark glasses can help in light sensitivity. One needs to go to the medications of higher level, if the condition is severe. Thus it is clear now that many of the eye diseases do not occur with visible symptoms. Hence it is highly essential to get them detected and cured in time. Otherwise treatment may not be possible. So routine eye check-up needs to be practised and one needs to keep in mind ‘prevention is better than cure.’ References Alimera Sciences (2013). Diabetic Macular Edema (DME). Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.alimerasciences.com/areas-of-focus/Diabetic-Macular-Edema.aspx American Academy of Ophthalmology (2013). What Is Uveitis? Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart/diseases/uveitis.cfm Better Health Channel (2013). Colour blindness. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Colour_blindness Cleveland Clinic (2013). Cole Eye Institute: Uveitis. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://my.clevelandclinic.org/cole-eye/diseases-conditions/hic-uveitis.aspx Colour Blind Awareness (2013). What Causes Colour Blindness? Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.colourblindawareness.org/colour-blindness/causes-of-colour-blindness/ Glaucoma Research Foundation (2013). Glaucoma Facts and Stats. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.glaucoma.org/glaucoma/glaucoma-facts-and-stats.php Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (2013). Uveitis: Symptoms - MayoClinic.com. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/uveitis/DS00677/DSECTION=symptoms Medscape, LLC (2013). Diabetic Macular Edema: Update and Treatment Options. Retrieved November 15, 2013, Moorfields Eye Hospital (n.d.). Cataract. Retrieved from https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.moorfields.nhs.uk%2Fportal_repository%2Ffiles%2FMicrosoftWord-cataractleafletfinal.pdf&ei=yJ6JUoKWA46mrQfpqoCwAw&usg=AFQjCNG21qFt71EOPECZJAK2mY_fc2Vw7w&sig2=3IQbba_OP4vFY0zr1SaKjQ&bvm=bv.56643336,d.bmk The National Eye Institute (2009). Facts About Cataract. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/cataract/cataract_facts.asp Rechtman, E,. Harris, A., and Ciulla, T., A. “Pharmacologic Therapies for Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Macular Edema.” Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.). Retrieved November 18, 2013, from RNIB and RCOphth (2011). Understanding Cataracts. Retrieved from http://www.rcophth.ac.uk/core/core_picker/download.asp?id=765 Vorvick, L. (2013). Glaucoma - National Library of Medicine. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002587/ Web Accessibility in Mind (2013). Visual Disabilities - Color-blindness. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://webaim.org/articles/visual/colorblind WHO (2007). Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable blindness: Action Plan 2006-2011. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/blindness/Vision2020_report.pdf Read More