Baldivino, John Patrick B.

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Eye Diseases
2. Glaucoma

It is characterized by increase pressure within the eye,

gradual loss of vision, beginning with the peripheral vision.

Cause:

Glaucoma is a group of conditions caused by normal fluid in the eye that hasn't drained
properly. This creates pressure that damages the optic nerve connecting the eye to the brain,
resulting in sight loss. Although it's not clear exactly why this happens, factors such as age,
family history, racial background and other medical conditions such as diabetes and short-
sightedness can increase the risk. It can affect people of all ages, but it's most common in
adults.

2. Cataracts

The lens of the eye changes from a clear, transparent

structure to a cloudy or opaque one.

Cause:

Cataracts are often associated with ageing, usually occurring in people over 40. The eye lens
is made up of proteins, and when these proteins start to clumped together, cataracts are
formed.

Besides ageing, there are other causes of cataracts which include:

  Eye injury and/or surgery
 Obesity
 Hypertension
 High alcohol consumption
 High exposure to ultraviolet light (for example, from the sun)
 Poor nutrition

3. Retinopathy of Prematurity

This is caused by the high level of oxygen required for

survival or premature infants who would not have
previously survived.

Cause:

Studies led by Children’s Hospital Boston ophthalmologist Lois Smith, MD, PhD, suggest that
ROP might be caused by the early cutoff of the chemicals that babies receive from their mother
in the womb, including insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and vascular endothial growth factor
(VEGF). However, it’s possible there are other chemicals are at play, and research is ongoing.
Researchers are still working to understand the mechanism behind retinopathy of prematurity- that is,
what causes the retinal vessel in many premature babies ’ eyes stop growing, then begin growing
abnormally.

4. Nystagmus

You may feel like your eyes have a mind of their own. They
move up and down, side to side, or in a circle. This is called
nystagmus or “dancing eyes”. It’s a condition where you
can’t control your eye movement.

Cause:

It may be a sign of another eye problem or medical condition. You may be born with it, or you
might develop it later in life. Nystagmus is caused by many different things, including:

 Being passed down from your parents

 Other eye issues, like cataracts or strabismus
 Diseases like stroke, multiple sclerosis, or Meniers’s disease
  Head injuries
 Inner ear problems

5. Corneal Opacity

6. Retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma is an eye cancer that begins in the retina-

the sensitive lining on the inside of your eye.
Retinoblastoma most commonly affects young children,
but can rarely occur in adults.

Cause:

Retinoblastoma occurs when nerve cells in the retina develop genetic mutations. These
mutations cause the cells to continue growing and multiplying when healthy cells would die.
This accumulating mass of cells forms of a tumor.
Retinoblastoma cells can invade further into the eye and nearby structures. Retinoblastoma
can also spread to other areas of the body, including the brain and spine.

Symptoms:
 Because retinoblastoma mostly affects infants and small children, symptoms are rare. Signs
you may notice include:

 A white color in the center in the circle of the eye (pupil) when light is shine in the eye,
such as when taking a flash photograph.
 Eye that appear to be looking in different
 Eye redness
 Eye swelling

7. Retinal Detachment

Retinal Detachment describes an emergency

situation in which a thin layer of tissue (the retina)
at the back of the eye pupil away from its normal
position.

Risk factors

The following factors increase your risk of retinal detachment:

 Aging – retinal detachment is more common in people over age 50
 Previous retinal detachment in one eye
 Family history of retinal detachment
 Extreme nearsightedness (myiopia)
 Previous severe eye injury
 Previous other eye disease or disorder, including retinoschisis, uveitis or thinning of the
peripheral retina (lattice degeneration)

8. Color 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 red and greens; some cannot
separate blues from yellows; and a small group
 have a condition called monochromatism which
only allows them to see black and white.

What causes Color Blindness?

Color blindness is a genetic condition caused by a difference in how one or more of the light-
sensitive cells found in the retina of the eye respond to certain colors. These cells, called cones,
sense wavelengths of light, and enable the retina to distinguish between colors. The difference
in sensitivity in one or more cones can make a person color blind.

Symptoms of Color Blindness

The symptoms of color blindness are often observed by parents when children are young. In
other cases, symptoms are so slight, they may not even be noticed. Common symptoms of color
blindness include:

 Difficulty distinguishing between colors

 Inability to see shades or tones of the same colors

Treatment for Color Blindness

There is no cure for color blindness. Contact lenses and glasses are available with filters to help
color deficiencies, if needed. Fortunately, the vision of most color-blind people is normal is all
other respects and certain adaptation methods are all that is required.