Posted on 25 February 2010. Tags: acute angle closure glaucoma, common symptoms of glaucoma, glaucoma, optical glaucoma, primary open angle glaucoma, symptoms of glaucoma, type of glaucoma, types of glaucoma
Glaucoma is a disease of the vision where the optic nerves of the eyes are receiving too much blood pressure and therefore are getting damaged. This impairs the vision of the patient on the peripheral angle and eventually the central angle as well.
There are many medications and treatments for alleviating this condition; however, in certain cases it may be necessary to undergo a surgery to stop the damage to the vision. The symptoms of glaucoma vary from person to person and the intensity of the disease also affects people differently. There are people that are having higher pressure to the optic nerves, but that are being able to cope with the results in better ways than those that are having less pressure but are losing their vision very fast.
The types of glaucoma have been classified to make it easier to understand and treat. The Primary open angle glaucoma is considered to be the sneak thief of sight, as this kind of glaucoma does not really give any symptoms at all and you are totally unaware of the existence of the disease.
The acute angle closure glaucoma is more specific and it creates a pressure in the intraocular part of the eye. This type of glaucoma will manifest with the dilatation of the pupils of the eyes and the blockage of fluids that need to run through this area of the eye. This condition will cause pain and blurred vision. Once this kind of glaucoma reaches certain stages, then it can be irreversible and it can create further complications and vision loss as well. This is a kind of glaucoma that needs to be treated as soon as possible to avoid losing your vision and having other problems related to permanent pressure on your eyes.
The most common symptoms of glaucoma include difficulty in seeing things clearly from time to time, and loss of sight gradually. Discomfort and pain in your eyes is also a very common symptom of this disease and you should be very careful to contact your doctor who will be able to guide you to a specialist that is capable of diagnosing the problem and giving you the right medication in time.
Diseases like glaucoma may not seem to be very common; however, it is very important to understand what they really mean and to take all necessary precautions to avoid any kind of complications to something as important as your eyesight.
Posted in eye and vision
Posted on 27 December 2009. Tags: Aponeurotic ptosis, Blepharophimosis ptosis, Congenital ptosis, drooping eye, Drooping eyelids, drooping of the upper eyelid, Droopy eyelids, droopy eyes, droopy eyes surgery, droopy left eye, droopy right eye, healthkut, Mechanical ptosis, Myogenic ptosis, Neurogenic ptosis, Neurotoxic ptosis, Pseudo ptosis, ptosis
What is Ptosis?
Ptosis is the abnormal drooping of the upper eyelid. It can be more visible when the person is tired or have been awake past sleeping time. When it is severe and untreated, it can lead to amblyopia or astigmatism. It can interfere in the development of vision when it is not treated in children at a young age.
Normal Eye:
Droopy Eye:
What are the causes of having droopy eyes?
The muscles of the eyelids are not able to function properly. Sometimes, one or both eyes are affected. Droopy eyelids are more common to older people due to the deterioratin muscles of their eyelids. However, a person can be born with ptosis, which is called congenital ptosis.
Congenital ptosis can be hereditary but the causes are still unknown. It can also be caused by trauma to the eyelid muscles or occulomotor nerve damage. It can be an indication that the person maybe suffering from diabetes, brain tumor, or myasthenia gravis. Sometimes, toxin exposure can contribute in occurence of ptosis.
Congenital ptosis:
Ptosis can be classified as Pseudo ptosis, Aponeurotic ptosis, Neurogenic ptosis, Myogenic ptosis, Neurotoxic ptosis, Blepharophimosis ptosis syndrome or Mechanical ptosis.
What are the signs and symptoms of ptosis?
Symptoms may present an underlying condition causing the ptosis and it includes the following:
- Drooping eyelids (it can be a droopy left eye or a droopy right eye, or both)
- Inability to close eye completely without any difficulty
- Affected eye is misaligned or crossed
- Head tilting to lift the lid
- Eye fatigue
- Irritation
- Double vision
How are droopy eyes detected and diagnosed?
The first thing that a doctor will determine when examining a person with droopy eyelid is the underlying cause. He will take the eyelid’s height and muscle strength. He will also have to examine the eye movements and alignment. For children, he may require additional vision tests.
When the ptosis is caused by a disease, diagnosing and treating the underlying cause will improve the ptosis.
Treatment
A crutch glasses or scleral contact lenses to lift the eyelids can be used as a non-surgical remedy. Most of the time it will require droopy eyes surgery through the expertise of an ophthalmologist with plastic and reconstructive surgery specialization. This is conducted by strengthening and tightening the levator muscles and raise the eyelid. When there is weakness in the levator muscle, the eyebrows and the eyelids are lifted. While it can be done to adults on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia, children needs to stay in the hospital for further monitoring.
Surgical procedures may include:
- Resection of the Levator. This is done for patients who have congenital ptosis. The levator tendon is shortened until the desired lid level is acquired. For those with severe ptosis, the skin in the anterior part is shortened.
- Resection of the Müller muscle. This muscle is found at the inferior surface of the levator and between the aponeurosis and the conjunctiva. It is thin and a little bit darker as seen during surgery. This is resected to raise the eyelid at a desired level.
- Frontalis sling procedure. This is somewhat the same as teh levator tendon resection.
Bilateral droopy eyelids before and after surgery:-
Unilateral ptosis before and after surgery:-
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