Eye Injuries—Eye Diseases

Some eye problems are minor and don’t last long. But some can lead to a permanent loss of vision.

Common eye problems include

• Refractive errors
• Cataracts – clouded lenses
• Optic nerve disorders, including glaucoma
• Retinal disorders – problems with the nerve layer at the back of the eye
• Macular degeneration – a disease that destroys sharp, central vision
• Diabetic eye problems
• Conjunctivitis – an infection also known as pinkeye

Your best defense is to have regular checkups, because eye diseases do not always have symptoms. Early detection and treatment could prevent vision loss. See an eye care professional right away if you have a sudden change in vision, if everything looks dim, or if you see flashes of light. Other symptoms that need quick attention are pain, double vision, fluid coming from the eye, and inflammation.

NIH: National Eye Institute

• Anisocoria (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Choroidal dystrophies (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Coloboma of the iris (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Episcleritis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Eye and orbit ultrasound (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Eye burning – itching and discharge (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Eye pain (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Eye redness (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Fluorescein angiography (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Fluorescein eye stain (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Heterochromia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Ophthalmoscopy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Orbit CT scan (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Orbital pseudotumor (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Photophobia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Pinguecula (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Pterygium (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Pupil – white spots (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Scleritis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Slit-lamp exam (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Standard ophthalmic exam (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Subconjunctival hemorrhage (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Uveitis (Medical Encyclopedia)

The structure of your face helps protect your eyes from injury. Still, injuries can damage your eye, sometimes severely enough that you could lose your vision. Most eye injuries are preventable. If you play sports or work in certain jobs, you may need protection.

The most common type of injury happens when something irritates the outer surface of your eye. Certain jobs such as industrial jobs or hobbies such as carpentry make this type of injury more likely. It’s also more likely if you wear contact lenses.

Chemicals or heat can burn your eyes. With chemicals, the pain may cause you to close your eyes. This traps the irritant next to the eye and may cause more damage. You should wash out your eye right away while you wait for medical help.

• Corneal injury (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Eye – foreign object in (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Eye emergencies (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Hyphema (Medical Encyclopedia)