1.2.4 Explains to the patient the implications of their pathological or physiological eye condition. Flashcards
AMD
At the back of the eye there is a layer that is greatly responsible for your vision, called the retina. On the retina, there is this small area called the macula. This is responsible for your detailed, central vision and with macula degeneration, there is a slow deterioration of it, causing some blurred vision and distortion in the vision. It is a very common condition in those above the age of 70 & is something we monitor.
Diabetic retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy isa complication of diabetes, caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the back of the eye (retina). It can cause blindness if left undiagnosed and untreated. However, it usually takes several years for diabetic retinopathy to reach a stage where it could threaten your sight
Cataracts
A cataract is a clouding of part of the eye called the lens. Vision becomes blurred or
dim because light cannot pass through the clouded lens to the back of the eye.
Glaucoma
Within the eye, there is a certain amount of pressure. This can be either high or low, just like with blood pressure. In the case of glaucoma, this is generally when the pressure in the eye becomes higher than it should & starts to damage the optic nerve, the nerve that connects the eye to the brain letting you see. In most cases glaucoma sufferers will experience no symptoms until significant damage has occurred.
Retinal detachment
At the back of the eye there is a layer that is greatly responsible for your vision, called the retina. If you imagine the retina as wallpaper, in your eye there appears to have been a tear, a portion of the retina broken off. This is now starting to peel off and is causing a curtain to come over your vision. This wallpaper needs to be reattached ASAP to restore vision and prevent any further loss.
Refractive Error
Where the eyes are the wrong shape or size, and you can’t see some things clearly without glasses, or you need to focus more than is normal to see clearly.
Astigmatism
- Astigmatism is where the cornea (the window at the front of the eye) or the lens inside your eye is shaped a bit like a rugby ball rather than a football. This means that without glasses everything looks blurred whether it is far away or close up. It may be combined with short or long sightedness. Lenses in your Rx will help correct this
- Astigmatism is where instead of the front surface of the eye being round it is more
oblong. This prevents the light being focused in the right way and leads to blurring.
Astigmatism can be secondary to the shape of the cornea or the lens, and is usually
correctable with spectacle or contact lenses.
Myopia
- Often called short sightedness, myopia causes distant objects to appear blurred. The
eyeball is too long for the normal focusing power of the eye. - Problems seeing things in the distance clearly, but can see things that are close. There are varying degrees of short-sightedness.
- Short sight is when your eyeball is either too long, or the cornea at the front of your eye is too steeply curved. This causes distance objects to be more blurred without glasses but near objects to be clear if close enough to you.
Hyperopia
- Long sightedness is the inability to see near objects as clearly as distant objects, and
the need for accommodation to see distant objects clearly. - Long sight is when your eyeball is either too short, or the cornea at the front of the your is not curved steeply enough. If you are long-sighted you have to focus more to see things clearly than you would if you were perfect sighted. It affects your vision of things that are far away as well as things that are close to you, but is more noticeable for things that are close to you
- You find it more difficult to see clearly objects that are close to you. For example, words on a page or your phone screen may seem blurred.
Presbyopia
- This is why people become more longsighted as they age
- Presbyopia is where due to normal age related changes the lens inside the eye
becomes less flexible and you lose the ability to focus as easily at near. It is why most
people need reading glasses as they move past their 40s.
Amblyopia
Lazy eye or amblyopia may be caused if a young child needs very strong glasses, has one eye that is significantly more short-sighted or long-sighted than the other, or has a squint (where the eyes are not looking in the same direction). This means that the sight in the affected eye or eyes does not develop properly.
Squint
Strabismus (sometimes called cross eyed) is a disorder of the eyes involving a lack of
coordination between the muscles of the eyes. Essentially, the eyes do not point in the
same direction. If the turn persists during childhood, then the affected eye may become ‘lazy’. Treatment to improve vision in the ‘lazy’ eye involves patching the ‘good’ eye. Treatment is most effective if started before school age.
Dry eye
- Dry eye occurs when your eyes don’t make enough tears, or your tears evaporate too quickly. This can make your eyes feel scratchy or irritated, and in severe cases may temporarily make your vision blurry.
Who is affected by Dry eye?
Dry eye is more common in women and in people aged over 65. This is because as you get older, your eyelids are not as effective at spreading your tears across your eyes when you blink. Also, the meibomian glands in your eyelids, which produce the oily part of your tears, become less effective and may become blocked. This is a condition called blepharitis.
Blepharitis
- Blepharitis is a condition in which chronic (i.e. long-term) inflammation of the eyelid margins causes symptoms of eye irritation. Sometimes there are no symptoms. There are two types of blepharitis, which sometimes occur together:
- Anterior blepharitis, which affects the outside front edge of the eyelids (near or among the roots of the eyelashes)
- Posterior blepharitis, which is also called Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD), results when the condition affects the inside rims of the eyelids (just behind the eyelashes) which contain the meibomian glands. (The meibomian glands produce a thin layer of oil which normally prevents the tears from evaporating too quickly; if they are inflamed, this mechanism does not work properly)
