Salil Shukla
Managing Eye Problems
Updated: Feb 12
Eyes are highly complex and sensitive of body parts requiring extra care preservation if you want them to last you long enough to live a healthy, vibrant and colorful life. In addition to taking care of them personally, make sure to be observant about any problematic signs and symptoms and respond by consulting an eye doctor, so that your eyes can get professional care and treatment before it’s too late.
VARIOUS EYE PROBLEMS
1: Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration is the name given to the damage to the central portion of retina, known as the macula. With its ability to focus central vision in the eye, macula helps us read, view objects in detail, recognize colors and faces, drive a car and get a detailed image of an object.
Signs and Symptoms of Macular Degeneration
Blurriness of central vision
Partial vision loss marked by formation of blind spots (scotomas)
Problem seeing in dim light
Objects appearing smaller than their actual size, as viewed with one eye and then the other
2: Cataracts
The formation of cloudy areas in the eye lens is referred as the cataracts. Light passes through a clear eye lens to your retina, where images are processed. With cataracts affecting your eye lens, light cannot pass through to the retina smoothly enough. As a result, you are unable to see as clearly as people without cataracts and may also notice a halo or glare around lights at night.
Signs and Symptoms of Cataracts
Blurred, clouded or dim vision
Problem seeing at night
Problem seeing through light and glare
Seeing ‘halos’ around lights
Frequently changing contact lens prescription or eyeglasses
Faded view of colors
3: Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye condition where eye’s optic nerve is damaged, getting worse over time. Mostly, it results in pressure buildup within the fluid in your eye, which can potentially damage the optic nerve responsible for transmitting images to your brain.
Signs and Symptoms of Glaucoma
Severe pain in eyes accompanied by nausea and vomiting in most cases
Sudden visual disturbance in low light conditions
Halos around lights
Blurred vision
Redness of the eyes
4: Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is basically a diabetes complication, which affects eyes by causing damage to the blood vessels spread throughout the light sensitive tissues of the retina . Anyone having type 1 or type 2 diabetes can develop this eye condition, especially those who have diabetes for a long time with fluctuating blood sugar levels. Usually, both eyes get affected by diabetic retinopathy.
Signs and Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy
Dark spots or strings floating through your vision (floaters)
Impaired color recognition
Fluctuating vision
Blurred vision
Vision loss
5: Dry Eyes Syndrome
One of the functions of tears is to keep your eyes lubricated, and when they fail to provide adequate lubrication for the eyes, you are being affected by dry eye syndrome. From your body being unable to produce enough tears to production of low quality tears, there can be a host of reasons behind inadequate lubrication for your eyes.
Signs and Symptoms of Dry Eyes Syndrome
A burning, scratchy or stinging sensation in eyes
Eye redness
Sensitivity to light
Mucus production in or around the eyes
Blurred vision
Eye fatigue
Issues in wearing contact lenses
6: Conjunctivitis (Pinkeye)
Conjunctivitis, also known to many as pinkeye is a condition that inflames the tissues lining the back of your eyelids and covering your sclera (conjunctiva). As a result of this, your eyes can turn itchy, red, blurry, teary and discharging, sometimes also giving you a feeling that something is in your eyes. It is also one of the most commonly prevailing eye problems.
Signs and Symptoms of Conjunctivitis
Redness appearing in the eyelid or through the white of the eye
Swelling in the conjunctiva
Excessive tearing
Thick yellowish discharge, mostly covering whole eyelashes, especially after sleep
Itching and burning eyes
Blurred vision
Extra sensitivity to light
7: Retinal Detachment
When the retina is separated or detached from its underlying tissues holding it in its place within the eye, the instance is referred as the retinal detachment. Sometimes, it all begins with small areas of the retina being torn (attributed as retinal tears or retinal breaks), eventually leading to retinal detachment. The longer you take in treatment of retinal detachment, the greater your chances of total vision loss in the affected eye are.
Signs and Symptoms of Retinal Detachment
Sudden appearance of floaters (tiny specks drifting through your field of vision) in the affected eye
Sudden appearance of light flashes in one or both eyes
Blurred vision
Steadily receding peripheral or side vision
Presence of a curtain-like shadow through your field of vision
8: Uveitis
This is the name collectively given to a group of eye diseases causing inflammation in the uvea, eye’s middle layer containing the most blood vessels. Uveitis may also result in destruction of eye tissue, leading to the loss of eye in some cases.
Signs and Symptoms of Uveitis
Blurred vision
Pain in the eye
Light sensitivity
Redness of the eye
9: Eyestrain
Another of the most commonly existing eye problems, eyestrain refers to a common condition in which your eyes get tiresome and fatigued due to intense use; for instance, after looking at a computer screen (or other digital screens) for prolonged time period and driving long distances.
Signs and Symptoms of Eyestrain
Soreness, tiredness, burning or itching in eyes
Watery or dry eyes
Headache
Blurred or double vision
High light sensitivity
Difficulty in keeping your eyes open
10: Night Blindness (Nyctalopia)
‘Nyctalopia’ or night blindness is a kind of vision impairment in which people are unable to see rightly at night or in other dimly lit environments. Unlike commonly perceived, night blindness doesn’t totally prevent you from seeing at night. You might only feel increased difficulty in seeing or driving in places not adequately lit.
Signs and Symptoms of Night Blindness
The only symptom associated with night blindness is increased difficulty seeing things in dark. It seems to be effecting more when your eyes undergo a transition from a properly lit environment to a lowly lit environment.
Similarly, you’ll have problems driving at night due to sporadic nature of vehicle’s headlights and streetlights on roads.
11: Color Blindness
Color blindness, also known as color deficiency is an eye condition when the pigments found in eye cones have some problem and you cannot see the colors in the normal manner.
Signs and Symptoms of Color Blindness
Trouble distinguishing between different colors
Failure in seeing differing tones or shades of the same color
12: Eye Floaters
Strings, black/gray specks or cobwebs drifting around with the movement of your eyes and darting away when trying to look through them, eye floaters are basically spots in your vision.
Signs and Symptoms of Eye Floaters
Appearance of dark specks or transparent strings floating around within your vision
Movement of the spots in correspondence with the movement of your eyes, quickly moving out of your visual field when looked upon
High visibility of the spots when looked at against a plain bright background like a white wall or blue sky
13: Nearsightedness (Myopia)
When you can view the objects close to you clearly enough, while getting a blurry vision of the objects far away, this eye condition is referred as myopia or nearsightedness. This happens because of irregular bending of light (refraction) due to the shape of your eye. The resultant images are focused in front of your retina rather than being focused right on it.
Signs and Symptoms of Nearsightedness
Vision getting blurry when looking at distant objects
Requiring squinting or partial closing of the eyelids to get a clear vision of something
Eyestrain leading to headaches
Difficulty viewing objects while driving a vehicle, particularly at night (night myopia)
14: Farsightedness (Hypermetropia)
Unlike myopia, hypermetropia or farsightedness refers to an eye condition when you have a clear vision looking at far placed things, while getting a blurry vision of nearby objects.
Signs and Symptoms of Farsightedness
Vision getting blurry for objects close by
Need to squint for getting a better vision
Headache hitting after tasks needing your focus on close by objects
15: Astigmatism
When your vision gets out of focus due to the abnormally curved cornea (the clear tissue lining the front of the eye), this eye disorder is referred as ‘astigmatism’ or ‘keratoconus’.
Signs and Symptoms of Astigmatism
Distorted and blurry vision at close range as well as at a distance
Difficulty in seeing things at night
Eyestrain
Headaches
Squinting
Eye irritation
16: Presbyopia
Human eyes’ inability to focus on nearby objects due to gradual loss of vision is referred as “Presbyopia”, an eye disease normally associated with aging. Mostly, it remains unnoticeable until early to mid 40s and continues progression until 65 years of age or so.
Signs and Symptoms of Presbyopia
Blurry vision and inability to read at normal reading distance
Eyestrain (mostly accompanied with headaches) as a result of activities requiring close-up vision
17: Proptosis
The phenomenon of protrusion of the eyeball is referred as “Proptosis”, also termed as “Exophthalmos” when such protrusion is caused by the “Graves’ disease”. Orbital mass or inflammation, thrombosis of cavernous sinus, fistulas and expansion of orbital bones are some of the common reasons behind this abnormal protrusion of eyeballs.
Signs and Symptoms of Proptosis
Eye pain and irritation
Light sensitivity
Eye secretions (lacrimation)
Blurry vision
Diplopia (double vision resulting from weakened eye muscles)
18: Strabismus (Crossed Eyes)
Strabismus (or “Crossed Eyes”) represents misaligned eyes pointing in different directions and this misalignment can either be intermittent or constant. Strabismus exists in four common forms, i.e. “esotropia” and “exotropia”, “hypotropia” and “hypertropia”.
Signs and Symptoms of Strabismus
Double vision
Eyes’ inability to focus on a particular point at the same time
Uncoordinated eye movements
Loss of depth perception
19: Macular Edema
Macula is the central region of the retina (constituted by the light sensitive tissues located at the back of the eye, wherein macula within the retina serves for sharp, straight-ahead vision) and unwanted buildup of fluids there is referred as the “Macular Edema”. Any accumulation of fluids inside the macula results in swelling and thickening of the macula, which leads to distorted vision.
Signs and Symptoms of Macular Edema
Wavy or blurry vision in or around your central field of vision is considered as the very first symptom of macular edema in most cases. Some people also complain of colors appearing faded or washed. In fact, macular edema symptoms vary anywhere between slightly blurry vision to significant vision loss. If this disease attacks only one of your eyes, you may not even notice blurriness in your vision until the condition is already in advanced stage.
Aconite relieves the pain and inflammation in an eye injury, usually given as the first line of defense as soon as the injury or trauma has occurred. It is also given for pain due to a foreign object in the eye
Arnica is good for bruising, black eyes, and bleeding. It can be taken internally every hour if needed until the eye feels better or when the bruise and swelling is decreased. It is also good for eye socket injuries, and for injury to the soft tissue surrounding the eyes.
Alumina is useful for dryness due to lack of aqueous
Arsenicum album is useful for dryness due to inflammation
Apis is useful for pain, swelling, heat, allergy eyes, and pressure sensation.
Belladonna is good for sudden onset of red, hot, burning, itchy eyes.
Calcarea flourica is good for capillary integrity
Calcarea phosphoric is helpful for the sensation of a foreign body in the eye.
Calendula is helpful for corneal healing and corneal health and vitality.
Causticum is used for eye pain and cloudy vision.
China may help dimming of the vision.
Cineraria maritime supports circulation within the eye to supply nourishment and drain toxins. It is well known for its use in treating cataracts, especially early cataracts.1
Chamomilla matricaria is helpful to reduce pain and irritation.1
Euphrasia is helpful for general dryness, redness and irritation of the eye and eyelid.2
Gelsemium is helpful for eye pressure balance
Hypericum is used for eye injury, excessively painful eyes or blood shot eyes or any nervous affliction of the eyelids or eyes, such as excessive blinking. Also used for eye pain, which follows removal of a foreign object from the eye. Also for long-lasting enduring pain.
Kalium phosphoricum is helpful for weak vision, health of the optic nerve
Ledum can be useful for bruising or black eyes if Arnica does not alleviate the problem. The keynote for using ledum is the presence of puncture wounds.
Lycopodium is helpful for the optic nerve
Mucokehl supports blood health and circulation
Natum muriaticum is useful for the health of the eye
Nux moschata is helpful for aggravation from cold air, dry air.
Nux vomica for dryness, light intolerance, pain
Phosphorus is useful for retinal haemorrhage
Ruta graviolens is useful for eyestrain, computer eyes, or close up work. For painful, red, hot eyes. Also for headache due to eyestrain.
Senega is helpful for cataract, sensation of spots and specks on cornea
Sepia supports relief from glare, veiled vision, streaks of light.
Silicia is helpful for cataract, conjunctiva health
Staphysagria is helpful for the sensation of a foreign body in the eye.
Sulphur is used for dryness, redness of the eye and lid and allergies.
Symphytum is beneficial for eyeball injuries, such as being hit with a snowball, a tennis or baseball, or any other blunt object striking the eye.
Zincum mettalicum is used for pain and headache.
Best Foods for Healthy Eyes
Your eyes need many types of antioxidants to stay healthy. These include:
A balanced diet is best created with a variety of proteins, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. Try to eat a rainbow during your day, incorporating many types of foods in many different colors. You should limit consumption of unhealthy foods that are processed, contain saturated fats, or are high in sugar.
Here are seven of the best foods for your eyes.
1. Fish
Fish, particularly salmon, can be a great food to consume for eye health. Salmon and other fish have omega-3 fatty acids. These are “healthy” fats. Omega-3 fatty acids can contribute to visual development and the health of the retina in the back of the eye. They can also help prevent dry eyes.
2. Eggs
Eggs are a great food to eat for eye health. The yolks contain vitamin A, lutein, zeaxanthin, and zinc, which are all vital to eye health. Vitamin A safeguards the cornea. The cornea is the surface of the eye. Lutein and zeaxanthin lower the chanceTrusted Source of getting serious eye conditions like age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Zinc contributes to the health of the retina. The retina is the back of the eye. Zinc also helps eyes see at night.
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3. Almonds
Almonds, like other nuts and seeds, are generally good for eye health. Almonds contain vitamin E. This vitamin guards against unstable molecules that target healthy tissue. Consuming regular amounts of vitamin E can help prevent age-related macular degeneration as well as cataracts.
4. Dairy
Dairy products such as milk and yogurt can be good for the eyes. They contain vitamin A as well as the mineral zinc. Vitamin A protects the cornea while zinc helps bring that vitamin to the eyes from the liver. Zinc is found throughout the eye, especially the retina and choroid, which is the vascular tissue that lies under the retina. This important mineral helps with night vision as well as the prevention of cataracts. Dairy from grass-fed cows provides the most benefits.
5. Carrots
Carrots are well-known to be good for eye health. Like egg yolks, carrots have vitamin A and also beta carotene. Vitamin A and beta carotene help the surface of the eye and can also help prevent eye infections and other serious eye conditions.
6. Kale
Kale is known as a superfood by many because it contains so many important vitamins, nutrients, and minerals. It’s extremely good for eye health. Kale has the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, also found in eggs and other foods. These nutrients may help to prevent serious eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Lutein and zeaxanthin aren’t made in the body, so you have to incorporate them into your diet.
7. Oranges
Oranges and other citrus fruit contain vitamin C, which is key for eye health. The vitamin, found mainly in fresh fruits and vegetables, contributes to healthy blood vessels in your eyes. It can combat the development of cataracts, and in combination with other vitamins and nutrients, age-related macular degeneration.
Tips for eye health
It’s important that you take care of your eyes on a regular basis to maintain eye health. Eating eye-healthy foods is not the only way to protect your eyes. Other ways you can keep your eyes healthy include:
visiting an eye doctor every one to two years
wearing sunglasses when outdoors
avoiding smoking
maintaining a healthy weight
wearing protective eye gear when engaging in sports, hobbies, home projects, or work-related activities
managing blood sugar
- Dr Sanjeev Singh Chawla