Eye Conditions

Strabismus, also known as “crossed eyes”, is a condition in which the eyes don’t look towards an object together. One of the eyes may look in or out, or turn up or down. The eye turning can occur all of the time or only sometimes, such as during stressful situations or illness. Some people are born with eyes that do not align, which is called congenital strabismus. In many children, there is no clear cause of strabismus. In some cases, it is a result of a problem with the nervous system, especially the part that controls the muscles of the eyes.

If it is not corrected, strabismus can continue into the adult years. Most adults who have strabismus were born with it. If strabismus does not appear until later in life, it will cause double vision. If the eyes become misaligned in an adult who did not have strabismus as a child, it could be a sign of a serious condition such as a stroke. A sudden, misalignment of the eyes or double vision are important reasons to see a doctor immediately.

For more information on Strabismus visit http://children.webmd.com/tc/strabismus-topic-overview

Amblyopia, also called “lazy eye,” is an eye condition which develops in early childhood. For a number of reasons, the images from one eye (or in rare cases, both eyes) will be “ignored” by the brain. If this is left untreated, especially during the early vision development period in one’s life, these neurological pathways will become permanent, resulting in a lifetime of reduced vision.

Conditions that lead to Amblyopia:

• Strabismus (crossed eye): A condition where the eyes are misaligned, and do not gaze at exactly the same target. A child’s brain will adapt, and learn to ignore the image from the crooked eye, to prevent double vision. Surgery may be necessary to treat the strabismus, but the weak eye must also be treated for amblyopia.

• Refractive discrepancy: In this case the eyes have different levels of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. The blurrier eye is ignored by the brain. Once diagnosed, this vision condition may be treated with corrective lenses; however, often the amblyopia must be treated as well.

• Eye clouding or obstruction: Other eye problems such as trauma, congenital cataract, scarring, or anything preventing a clear image can result in disuse of that eye. The ophthalmologist must address the obstruction, often by surgery, and then treat the amblyopia.

For more information on Amblyopia visit http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/tc/amblyopia-topic-overview

Tears normally drain from the eye through small tubes called tear ducts that stretch from the eye into the nose. A blocked tear duct occurs when the opening of the duct that normally allows tears to drain from the eyes is obstructed or fails to open properly. If a tear duct remains blocked, the tear duct sac fills with fluid and may become swollen, inflamed, and sometimes infected.

Blocked tear ducts are thought to occur in about 30% of newborns. In babies, the most common cause of a blocked tear duct is the failure of the thin tissue at the end of the tear duct to open normally at or near birth. However, noticeable symptoms are present in only 2% to 4% of newborns.

Blocked tear ducts are uncommon in adulthood. They mostly occur in older adults and are usually the result of an injury or related to another disorder.

For more information on blocked tear ducts visit: http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/tc/blocked-tear-ducts-topic-overview

A cataract is a painless, cloudy area in the lens of the eye that blocks the passage of light to the retina. The retina is the nerve layer at the back of the eye. The nerve cells in the retina detect light entering the eye and send nerve signals to the brain about what the eye sees. Because cataracts block this light, they can cause vision problems.

In children cataracts may be hereditary, associated with a medical condition or present from birth without any other risk factor. Cataracts can also happen after an eye injury, as a result of eye disease, after you use certain medicines, or as a result of health problems such as diabetes. Aging and exposure to sunlight can cause cataracts. Changes in your eyes are often a normal part of aging, but they do not always lead to cataracts.

For more information on Congenital Cataracts visit: http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/cataracts/cataracts-topic-overview

Glaucoma is the name for a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve. The optic nerve, which carries information from the eye to the brain, is in the back of the eye. When the nerve is damaged, you can lose your vision.

At first, people with glaucoma lose peripheral vision. If the disease is not treated, vision loss may get worse or lead to total blindness over time.

Three types of glaucoma:
• Open-angle glaucoma is the most common type of glaucoma where the optic nerve is damaged bit by bit. This slowly leads to loss of eyesight. One eye may be affected more than the other. Sometimes much of your eyesight may be lost before you notice it.

• Closed-angle glaucoma is less common. About 10% of all glaucoma cases in the United States are closed-angle. In this type of glaucoma, the iris and the lens block movement of fluid between the chambers of your eye. This causes pressure to build up and the iris to press on the drainage system of the eye. A related type is sudden (acute) closed-angle glaucoma. It is often an emergency and needs medical care right away to prevent permanent damage to your eye.

• Congenital glaucoma is a rare form of glaucoma that some infants have at birth. Some children and young adults can also get a type of the disease.

For more information on glaucoma visit:http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/glaucoma-eyes

Children can be born with a number of structural malformations of the eye due to a genetic defect. There are inherited conditions of the optic nerve ( the nerve that takes all the visual information from the eye to the brain) and the Retina and Choroid ( the thin inner lining of the eye that contains the light-sensitive cells) that can lead to reduced vision and even blindness early in life. There may not be any visible eye abnormality but the child may show abnormal visual attention and may have involuntary shaking or jiggling eye movements. Specialized testing for chromosome analysis, genetic evaluation and tests for assessment of retinal and optic nerve function may be advised. Early intervention for diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation is necessary.

For more information on inherited or genetic eye disorders visit: http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/retinitis-pigmentosa

Tumors (abnormal benign or cancerous growth of tissues) can develop in different parts of the eye or the eye socket. There may be a visible swelling or structural abnormality, a white pupillary reflex, misalignment of eye or visual impairment. A thorough eye examination, X-ray,C-T scan, MRI or ultra sound of the eye may be necessary for diagnosis. Retinoblastoma is the most common intra ocular malignancy of childhood.

For more information on ocular tumors visit: http://www.webmd.com/cancer/tc/eye-retinoblastoma-treatment-health-professional-information-nci-pdq-general-information

In order for our eyes to be able to see, light rays must be bent or refracted by the cornea and the lens so they can focus on the retina, the layer of light-sensitive cells that line the back of the eye. A refractive error means that the shape of the eye does not refract the light properly. There are different types of refractive error:

• Myopia (nearsightedness): A myopic eye is longer that normal or has a cornea that is too steep, so that the light rays focus in front of the retina. Close obgects liik clear but distant objects appear blurred.

For more information on nearsighedness visit: http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/tc/nearsightedness-myopia-surgery
• Hyperopia (farsightedness): A hyperopic eye is shorter than normal or has a cornea that is too flat. Light from close objects such as the page of a book, cannot focus clearly on the retina.

For more information on farsightedness visit: http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/tc/farsightedness-hyperopia-surgery
• Astigmatism (distorted vision): In an eye with astigmatism the cornea curves more in one direction than in the other, like a football. This results in distorted vision.

For more information on distorted vision visit: http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/astigmatism-eyes

Glasses, contact lenses and refractive surgery can correct refractive errors. Refractive surgery such as lasik is approved for individuals older than 18 years of age.