Common Eye Diseases & Conditions

Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis is a common eye condition that can lead to irritation, redness, and wateriness, among other symptoms. Fortunately, conjunctivitis is very easy to treat with the use of eye drops or doctor-prescribed medications.

There are 3 common types of conjunctivitis:

Allergic conjunctivitis occurs when your eyes react to something that you’re allergic to, like pollen or pet dander. You can manage these symptoms by using eye drops or allergy medication.
Viral conjunctivitis can occur when your eyes contract conjunctivitis through a virus. Fortunately, symptoms do tend to go away after a couple of days. If your symptoms persist, please speak to your optometrist for help.
Bacterial conjunctivitis occurs when your eyes contract conjunctivitis through bacteria. Symptoms may disappear over a few days, but in some cases, you may need to use antibiotics prescribed by your doctor.

Cataracts

Cataracts are an eye condition that occurs when your clear crystalline lens becomes denser and more opaque. The result is a cloudy or milky appearance that can impair your vision quality.

Most patients use glasses or contact lenses to help manage their symptoms, but the only way to effectively treat cataracts is by having cataract surgery. Cataract surgery removes the cataract lenses from your eyes and replaces them with an artificial intraocular lens.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the most common eye diseases affecting adults over 55 years old and is the leading cause of blindness in that age group.

AMD causes deterioration of your macula, a part of your retina that is responsible for providing your central vision. As your macula deteriorates, it can make it difficult to read, drive, or even recognize faces.

There are 2 common types of AMD:

Dry AMD occurs when deposits of drusen form underneath the macula. The drusen then deteriorates the macula, leading to vision loss.
Wet AMD occurs when tiny, delicate blood vessels form underneath the macula. Because of how delicate these vessels are, they can break and leak fluids, leading to rapid vision loss. Wet AMD is far less common than dry AMD, but it’s responsible for the majority of AMD-related blindness. Wet AMD is a medical emergency and requires immediate attention.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is a common eye disease related to diabetes. It can occur when high blood-sugar levels damage the blood vessels in your retinas. In response, your retina may develop new blood-vessels, but these are tiny, delicate, and can break easily.

When these new vessels break, they can leak fluids into your retina, causing vision loss.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma can occur when your intraocular pressure raises due to more fluid inside your eyes. When this happens, the fluid puts pressure on your optic nerve, leading to vision loss. However, your optic nerve can still be damaged if your IOP levels are normal.

There are 3 common forms of glaucoma:

Open-angle glaucoma develops when the drainage angle between the iris and cornea is open, but not enough fluids are draining through the trabecular meshwork, leading to raised IOP levels. This pressure damages the optic nerve, leading to vision loss.
Closed-angle glaucoma, or angle-closure glaucoma, occurs when the drainage angle between your iris and cornea becomes closed or blocked, leading to rapidly rising IOP levels and sudden vision loss. Closed-angle glaucoma isn’t nearly as common as open-angle glaucoma, but it’s still considered a medical emergency.
Normal-tension glaucoma is a type of glaucoma that damages your optic nerve, but your IOP levels are normal. Your optometrist can detect this by observing your optic nerve during a comprehensive eye exam.