Vision diseases and their treatments

• Hyperopia

Visual acuity is reduced at any distance, but even more so in near vision. The eye is "too short", the image is formed behind the retina. Hyperopia is corrected by converging glasses (or lenses). In young people, hyperopia can go unnoticed: no loss of vision because the lens compensates by accommodating.  

• 

  Hyperopia: symptom, how does a hyperopic see?

  Having trouble seeing up close can be a sign of hyperopia. This visual defect, quite common, is generally explained by an eye that is too short or a cornea that is too flat. What correction? Is an operation possible?

• Astigmatism

Associated with myopia and / or hyperopia, astigmatism is due to an abnormality in the shape of the cornea. Vision is disturbed both near and far. The image forms at two points in the retina. It is corrected by so-called "cylindrical" glasses, capable of modifying the refraction in two different axes. 

• 

  Astigma: causes, signs, what is it?

  Being astigmatic is not serious but especially uncomfortable on a daily basis. What are the causes of this vision disorder? How do you see when you are astigmatic? What solutions should be favored to see better? Explanations.

• Presbyopia

Due to age, presbyopia is characterized by a decline in near visual acuity. The image forms behind the retina (as in hyperopia), the lens no longer being able to accommodate sufficiently. Doctor Gomez recalls that presbyopia "occurs for 90% of patients at the age of 42 or 43" .

• 

  Presbyopia: age, symptoms, correction

  Eye fatigue, difficulty reading, inability to focus, blurred near vision… These are the first signs of presbyopia, a natural decline in visual accommodation that requires specific correction, generally after 40 years. Symptoms, diagnosis, correction, difference with hyperopia ... Update on this vision disorder.

Symptoms

• Sudden partial or total loss of sight: Horton's disease?

Horton's disease is one of the autoimmune diseases, the causes of which are still unknown. Temporal arteritis can lead to sudden, partial or total loss of vision in one eye (blindness) in the most severe cases. This complication occurs in 10% of cases if treatment is not implemented quickly. "This is a real medical emergency for the eye" specifies the ophthalmologist.

• Veil in front of the eyes: a cataract?

The aging of the lens is the main cause of  cataracts, which is therefore essentially linked to the age of patients. It does not occur before the age of 63 in almost 90% of cases. There are also other risk factors: significant and regular exposure to solar radiation (without protection for the eyes), certain eating disorders (excessive alcohol consumption) or even diabetes mellitus and obesity. 

Doctor Gomez explains that other risk factors exist: " A cataract can also be caused by a corticosteroid treatment taken long term but also by a big trauma. In this case of an accident or a violent blow, one will then speak of traumatic cataract. " The opacification of the lens of the eye leads to a poorer perception of colors and contrasts. This loss is accompanied by a feeling of veil in front of the eyes. This veil tends to darken as the disease progresses. Among the other consequences in the medium and longer term: a feeling of discomfort in the light (photophobia) and, in the absence of treatment, blindness. 

• 

  Cataract: symptoms and operation

  Cataracts are clouding of the main lens of the eye, the lens. It is most often progressive and related to age. Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in the world, it affects in France 20% of the population from 65 years and more than 60% from 85 years.

• Loss of peripheral vision: glaucoma?

Chronic glaucoma is frequently associated with ocular hypertension, which is defined as abnormal intraocular pressure. This is caused by the degeneration of the trabecular meshwork, a fibrous tissue which, when it ages, absorbs the aqueous humor less quickly. Other factors (especially genetic) are involved in the weakening of the optic nerve, causing chronic glaucoma. Finally, certain chronic diseases (diabetes and / or arterial hypertension) also predispose to the appearance of chronic glaucoma. "Gradually progressive loss of peripheral vision is the most important symptom of glaucoma" continues Dr Gomez. 

Chronic glaucoma or acute glaucoma ? The most common form of glaucoma (80 to 90% of cases), untreated chronic glaucoma systematically progresses to degeneration of the nerve fibers that connect the cells of the retina to the brain. The damage is irreparable, so the most serious complication of chronic glaucoma is irreversible loss of vision. Several factors also predispose to the onset of acute glaucoma (or "angle closure glaucoma") such as hyperopia, cataracts and genetic background. The acute form of glaucoma is an emergency: indeed, acute glaucoma can cause blindness within 48 hours by compression of the retinal papilla. 

• 

  Glaucoma: what is it and how to treat it?

  Glaucoma is a chronic disease caused by the progressive destruction of the fibers of the optic nerve under the influence of various factors, the most common of which is the abnormal rise in intraocular pressure. It affects about 1% of the population over 40 and is the second leading cause of blindness in developed countries, after age-related macular degeneration.

• Degraded vision and multiple sclerosis: neuritis?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is often involved in the appearance of optic neuritis, which also has infectious (ex: syphilis, herpes), autoimmune and medicinal origins. Optic neuritis can also be secondary to vasculitis. 
In the vast majority of cases of optic neuritis, vision improves spontaneously, even without treatment. In less than one in ten patients, vision can nevertheless continue to deteriorate over time (dark or distorted vision).  

• 

  Multiple sclerosis: symptoms, age, diagnosis, what is it?

  Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and progresses in flares. But what exactly is it? What symptoms does it cause? At what age does it occur? What are the causes ? How is the diagnosis made? What do the treatments do?

• Blurred vision: a foreign body in the eye?

The cause is accidental: projection of a solid or liquid body into the eye. The consequence is partial or total loss of vision in the affected eye.

• Retinal detachment?

Eye trauma is the most common cause of retinal detachment in young people. Certain risk factors predispose to this pathology: such as myopia (high) and a history of operation on cataracts. Without rapid surgical treatment (within 7 days) or in the event of serious damage, detachment of the retina leads to the formation of fibrous growths linked to the retraction of the vitreous. In this case, sight continues to decline until the use of the eye is completely lost. The older the retinal detachment, the less likely it is to recover visual acuity. 

• Distorted vision: keratitis?

Keratitis can be caused by a virus of the herpes group, an adenovirus, certain amoebae (transmitted by contaminated contact lenses), certain radiation (UVB), or various chemicals that come into contact with the eye. Deep damage to the cornea in keratitis can lead to visual after-effects (distorted vision), because scarring sometimes reduces the transparency of the cornea. 

• Vision loss and retinitis

The causes of retinitis pigmentosa are not yet clearly established, although the disease is inherited. Doctor Gomez, however, mentions two additional risk factors: "An infection (toxoplasmosis, herpes, cytomegalovirus, tuberculosis) or certain autoimmune diseases, such as sarcoidosis can be the cause of retinitis." Retinitis pigmentosa usually progresses quite slowly, over several decades. Some forms of retinitis can lead to blindness. In other cases, sufferers retain part of the visual field until old age. 

• Irreversible loss of sight: uveitis?

Uveitis is more often caused by infection (herpes, chickenpox and shingles), and the earlier form of the disease can be caused by different chronic diseases: sarcoidosis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, etc. In the most severe forms, uveitis can cause irreversible loss of vision or cause glaucoma, problems with the optic nerve or retina, or cataracts. 

• 

  Uveitis: symptoms and treatments for inflammation of the eye

  Under the term uveitis, are grouped all the inflammations of the uvea, corresponding to the iris, the ciliary body and the choroid, together or separately. The main symptom is red eye. Update on definition, symptoms, causes and treatments.

• Vision loss during ophthalmic migraine

The exact origin of an ophthalmic migraine is still unknown. Its symptoms, if they are very disabling, are fortunately transitory, as explained by Doctor Gomez: "It causes a temporary loss of vision at the peripheral level which will advance towards the center. Then the vision returns to normal after the crisis. " Physical (vasodilations, or vasoconstriction of the vessels at the cranial level) and hereditary causes have a role in triggering the disease, as well as certain factors such as lack of sleep or stress. The episodes of ophthalmic migraine do not have serious direct consequences, but they can lead to irrelevant self-medication, with the risk of 

• 

  Ophthalmic migraine (with aura): how to get rid of it?

  Migraines with visual aura (commonly called "ophthalmic migraines"), sensitive or phasic, are manifested by the appearance of neurological symptoms before the migraine headache. These may be bright white dots, tingling, or language impairment. When to consult? What treatments to consider?

• Double vision: hypertension or hidden diabetes?

The causes of binocular diplopia are multiple but Doctor Gomez recalls that "the most frequent are arterial hypertension and diabetes" . We also note the deleterious role of excessive alcohol consumption but diplopia can also be linked to the presence of the cyst behind the eye, trauma, neurological damage, inflammation or disease of a eye muscle, or Graves' disease. Astigmatism, cataracts and corneal stain are more often involved in the development of monocular diplopia.