Eye diseases facts

Eye diseases are those ailments that affect the human eye, a conscious sense organ that allows vision. Some eye diseases may be completely harmless and manifest just as minor disturbances, while others may lead to a permanent loss of vision. Some eye diseases do not even have any obvious symptoms, and people are therefore advised to have regular checkups and detect any kind of health problem on time. Regular check-ups can also involve a patient in an early treatment and prevent loss of vision. People are generally advised to seek medical help whenever they experience changes in vision, pain, double vision, dim vision or flashes of light. Here are some common eye diseases.

Stye

This condition is actually an infection of the sebaceous glands of Zeis at the base of the eyelashes. Styes typically form on the outside of the lids and look like small red bumps on the lining inside of the eyelids. Sometimes the bump can be placed underneath the lid and appear as redness and swelling visible on the outside. In most cases, styes resolve on their own in up to 10 days and without treatment.

Ocular Herpes

This is a viral disease caused by Herpes simplex virus. In most cases, only the one eye is affected, and the infection is usually visible on the cornea, a clear lining of the eyes. If infection involves deeper layers of an eye, it may lead to scarring and permanent loss of vision, even blindness. Symptoms of ocular herpes may include blurred vision, sensitivity to light, and pain and redness of the eye.

Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis is also known under the names pink eye or madras eye. It is actually an inflammation of the conjunctiva that occurs as a result of infection. Viruses typically cause the infection, but it may also be bacterial, or even allergic in nature. Symptoms include redness of the eye, irritation, excessive watering and otherwise normal vision.

Trachoma

This disease is also known as Egyptian ophthalmia. It is an infectious eye condition and the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world. It is estimated that this disease affects 41 million people worldwide and causes about 8 million cases of visual impairment. Trachoma eye disease is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, one of three bacterial species in the genus Chlamydia.

Ocular Toxoplasmosis

This is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. The primary hosts for this pathogen are cats. People usually get infected by eating infected meat, or by ingestion of feces of a cat. Even though most individuals do not experience any symptoms, the disease can sometimes be very serious, and even fatal, especially for those with weakened immune systems.