Glaucoma is a serious eye condition in which the optic nerve gets damaged and the situation gets worse over time. If untreated, individuals may go permanently blind. Most individuals, with glaucoma, have no previous symptoms or warning signs of this disorder and this is the reason why it is important to have regular eye check-ups.

Causes of glaucoma
Eyes have a liquid called aqueous humor. This fluid flows out of the eyes through mesh like channels for proper lubrication of the eye. However, there can be situations in which these channels may get blocked. In such a case, there would be a build-up of this liquid, thereby causing an increase in fluid pressure. This is usually a major cause of glaucoma. Although there has been no elaborate evidence of what exactly causes this blockage, doctors have noticed that this can be inherited.

Other less common causes include:

Any sort of blunt injury or chemical injury to the eye
Blocking of blood vessels inside the eye
Other inflammatory conditions
Improper eye surgery
Types of glaucoma
There are mainly two kinds of glaucoma than can occur:

Open-angle glaucoma: This is the most common kind of glaucoma and is also called wide-angled glaucoma. In this kind, the tubular meshwork through which the liquid flow occurs is normal. However, the fluid flow isn t the way it should be.
Angle-closure glaucoma: This is also known as acute glaucoma or chronic angle closure. In this case, the liquid is not able to drain properly because of the angle between the iris and the cornea being too narrow, thus causing the iris to be in the way. This can cause a sudden build-up of pressure, thereby leading to chronic glaucoma.
Facts about glaucoma

This disorder usually has no previous signs or symptoms and occurs all of a sudden.
This disorder mainly affects individuals above 40 years of age.
Glaucoma can be inherited.
People with diabetes have chances of suffering from glaucoma.
If not treated early, it may lead to permanent blindness.
Symptoms of glaucoma
Usually there aren t many symptoms to warn people about this disorder. However, one of the first signs is definitely losing peripheral or side vision. Other symptoms might include

Chronic vision loss
Visibility of halo around lights
Narrowed vision
Glaucoma is treated by any of the three methods:

Prescription eye drops in order to reduce eye fluid formation, thereby resulting in outflow increase
Laser surgery
Microsurgery

Glaucoma - A Complete Guide on It!

Blurred vision is most often a sign that you need corrective spectacles for near sightedness, far sightedness or astigmatism but it could also be a sign of a bigger problem including eye diseases or neurological problems. Blurred vision involves the loss of sharpness of vision and objects appearing hazy and out of focus. It can affect one eye or both eyes simultaneously.

Whatever be your age, it is a good idea to consult a doctor as you begin to experience a blurred vision. To measure the extent of your vision problem, a doctor will do a comprehensive eye examination including spatial contrast sensitivity and a standard eye chart test. Some of the factors that trigger blurred vision are:

1. Myopia or nearsightedness
2. Hypermetropia or farsightedness
3. Astigmatism caused by an irregularly shaped cornea
4. Presbyopia - the diminished ability to focus on objects due to the hardening of the lens in the eye
5. Dry eyes or the lack of lubrication on the surface of the eyes
6. Hormonal changes during pregnancy
7. Migraine headaches
8. Temporary floaters in the eye formed by the liquefying of the gel in the eyes
9. After effects of lasik surgery
10. Eye drops or medication
11. Overuse of contact lenses
12. Diabetes

Blurred vision can also be a symptom of a serious condition such as cataract, glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and cardiovascular diseases.

Treatment for blurred vision depends on the factors triggering it. Wearing corrective glasses can cure blurred vision caused by myopia, hypermetropia and astigmatism. These conditions can also be treated by lasik surgery. For blurred vision related to diabetes, check your blood sugar and get it into its optimal range.

Exercises for the eye muscles can also help sharpen vision and lower the rate of eye muscle degeneration. Some of these exercises are:

1. Alternately focus on an object close to you and another far from you for ten seconds each.
2. Blink your eyes and hold for two seconds
3. Roll your eyes clockwise and anticlockwise. Repeat 15-20 times.
4. Rub your palms together to generate heat and place over your eyes to relax them.

A healthy diet with plenty of vitamin a can help keep your eyes healthy and prevent blurring of vision. Wearing sunglasses can also protect your eyes from harmful uv radiation and lower their rate of wear and tear. Lastly avoid reading in moving vehicles and holding a book too close to your face.

Is Your Vision Blurry? What Should You Do?

With technology at your fingertips, it is hard to think of times when the existence of laptops and television sets was unimaginable. Technology is common enough to be taken for granted in present times. TV and laptops are especially in widespread use. The primary reason could be entertainment, an urge to connect to the larger world, or the need to kill time. Such dependability leads to severe health hazards. Read on to find out more:

Effects of TV and laptops on your health:

    Sleep deprivation: Long hours of exposure to artificial light can lead to sleep deprivation.
    It can also lead to serious vision problems: Watching TV or using laptops for long hours can make your eyes vulnerable to constant glare. You fail to realize, but changing lights of a computer screen or of a television set in a dark room can be extremely strenuous for your eyes to adjust. Constantly changing lights can lead to glaucoma. However, dry and itchy eyes, headaches and poor vision are the commonly noticed effects.
    It causes obesity in children and adults: Since all your work can be done on the internet, you tend to become lethargic. You are too lazy to go to the market or to the bank. Even if you are not watching you use the television for background music. Adults therefore do not make qualitative use of their free time. Children are addicted to playing games and browsing sites on the laptop. They hardly indulge in outdoor games. This leads to obesity in adults and children all the same.
    Propels your desire to eat fast food or packaged food: Binge eating is a very common practice while watching TV or using laptops. Chips, pizzas, burgers, ice- creams, cold drinks and absolutely anything junk devoid of nutritional value are more liked by us. Junk food not only leads to weight gain but is also detrimental to our digestive system.
    Can increase the risk of infertility in men: Laptops heat up when used for a long span of time. This heat can increase scrotum temperature which results in reduced sperm production, leading to infertility.   

As is said, nothing in excess is good for your health. It is therefore, best to make controlled use of TV and laptops to avoid its harmful effects.

Watching TV and Using Laptop: How it Affects Your Health?

Cataract is generally associated with old age. However, in some unfortunate cases, children could be affected by cataract as well. A cataract can be defined as a cloudy or opaque layer that forms on the eye's natural lens that lies behind the iris and the pupil, leading to eventual loss in vision. Cataract can affect children in one eye or both eyes.

Cataract can be a congenital birth defect or can develop as the child grows older. The latter case is known as pediatric cataracts. The exact cause of cataracts in children is not known, but it has been associated with a number of genetic disorders, low birth weight and infections during pregnancy. Traumatic events such as an injury to the eye can also cause cataracts.

The earlier a cataract is diagnosed and treated, the better it is. It is easier to identify a cataract that affects both eyes than a cataract that affects only one eye. If a congenital cataract is not treated in time, the part of the baby's brain used for sight may not develop properly. Hence it is crucial to recognize cataract symptoms.

Here are a few you should look out for:

    Not looking directly or responding to large, colourful objects.
    Not being able to find small objects while crawling.
    Excessive squinting or shielding their eyes to bright sunlight.
    Eyes that do not focus on the same point.
    White reflex instead of a red reflex in photographs.
    Uncontrolled movement of the eye.

Cataracts that are too small to affect sight can be treated with eye drops to dilate the pupil. However, this provides only temporary relief. Surgery is the most preferred form of cataract treatment. This surgery can be performed even in the first few weeks of a baby's life. The child is put under anesthesia and a microsurgical instrument is used to break the lens into small pieces and remove it.

This surgery is followed by the use of lenses or glasses to help the eye regain its power to focus again. In some cases, the lens may be implanted to replace the natural lens. In cases where cataract affects only one eye or one eye is more severely affected than the other, there may be a tendency to develop amblyopia or lazy eye syndrome. In such cases, it becomes necessary to patch the good eye shut and stimulate vision in the eye that has undergone surgery.

Cataract in Children

Bloodshot eyes indicate the reddening of the eye vessels. They can cause irritation and make the eye swollen. The condition may arise due to allergies, eye infections, allergies, fatigue and other illness of the eye. It does not signify a disease but indicates an eye condition which might have caused the eye to redden. Bloodshot eyes can be encountered in one or both the eyes.

Causes of Bloodshot Eyes:

One of the frequent causes of bloodshot eyes is irritants such as dry air, pollen, pet dander, dust and UV rays of the sun. Shortage of sleep also tends to make the eyes red. Inflammations of the eye can also make them red giving a bloodshot appearance. It can even happen with people who wear contact lens for more than 16 hours without soaking it in the disinfectant. At times excessive dryness can make the eyes red. Some other reasons for the eye to become red include conjunctivitis, blepharitis, glaucoma and corneal ulcer. Another concerning reason of bloodshot eyes is a subconjunctival haemorrhage. While the latter is not dangerous in nature, it can cause significant trouble if proper care is not taken on time.

Symptoms of Red Eyes:

Some of the common signs of bloodshot eyes include watery eyes, foreign sensation, burning feeling, dermatitis, falling of eye lashes, light sensitivity, swollen eyelid, itching of the eye and feeling of irritation of the eye.

The Complications Involved:

In most of the cases, bloodshot eyes do not imply serious complications. In case it happens from conjunctivitis, a person may not be able to go to work, wear cosmetics and come in public places since it is a communicable disease. If bloodshot eyes arise from a serious condition such as glaucoma and trauma, some of the possible complications may involve the following:

Eye scarring

Vision loss due to complete blindness

Spreading of the existing condition to other persons

Eye loss in severe cases

Preventive Measures:

Bloodshot eyes might arise from an array of reasons. While it cannot be totally dodged, some general preventive measures can ensure that such a condition does not arise:

Keeping hands clean by thoroughly washing them with liquid soap

Not sharing personal belongings such as washcloths, linen, and cosmetics

Get immediate medical attention in case of any eye injuries

Stay away from an environment that is full of allergens

Staying away from people who are suffering from infectious eye diseases such as conjunctivitis

Taking a shower immediately after getting in touch with an infected person suffering from conjunctivitis

Wearing eye glasses in a dusty environment

Bloodshot Eyes - Causes, Symptoms and Complications

Glaucoma: An Overview
This disease can be developed or inherited; it usually refers to the accumulation of fluid inside a person's eyes leading to excessive pressure on his or her optic nerve.

How to Diagnose the Symptoms of Glaucoma-

A Fundamental Eye Examination: An experienced eye doctor will check the dilated pupils of your eyes so as to take a closer look at the optic nerve that further discerns the stage of glaucoma a patient is in. Doctors tend to keep track on the sequential progression of glaucoma and its specific mode of treatment through pictures of the optic nerve taken during an examination.

Tonometry may also be performed:Signs of Glaucoma may be spotted through the procedure called tonometry where the doctor will test a person's eye pressure and so on so forth. A visual field test might also be conducted to check if the patient can see things at the periphery of his line of vision. 

Symptoms that will help a doctor identify this condition in people:-

A loss of peripheral vision is experienced in the early stages of glaucoma.
A person may see halos when in the presence of bright lights.
Your eyes could turn red.
Hazy or blurry vision is a problem faced by young children affected with glaucoma.
Glaucoma could be accompanied by headaches and eye pain.
An affected person might repeatedly feel nauseous.
Ways to Treat Glaucoma:-

Microsurgery can effectively treat Glaucoma: Microsurgery can be performed in various ways. There is one way in which a channel is made to pump out the fluid creating extra pressure on the optic nerve. This method is referred to as trabeculectomy.

Eye Drops: Eye drops can relieve you from painful glaucoma. They are known to control the formation of excess fluid in a person's eye. In some cases, they can induce the accumulating fluid to flow out of the patient's eyes.

Laser Treatment: Laser surgeries can be undertaken to get rid of glaucoma. Laser can help in moving out fluid from the eyes of the affected person. It successfully hinders fluid blockage as well. There are different kinds of laser treatments available to cure glaucoma.

Diagnosis and Treatment for Glaucoma

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