Signs
And Symptoms Of Eye DiseaseSigns and symptoms of eye diseases vary a great
deal depending on which structure (see anatomy
of the eye ) is affected. For instance, if there is a superficial
ulceration of the cornea from a contact lens that rubbed, there would be a lot
of pain, particularly with blinking. The health
care provider would see a whitish area where the ulceration is located on the
cornea with proper magnification. However in the case of uveitis (=also called
"anterior uveitis" or iritis) there is a combination of sensitivity
to light, redness of the eye, brow
ache and/or pain in the depth of the eye. Other eye diseases have
other symptom constellations. For instance with many major eye diseases
there is a loss of vision: all of the retinal diseases
like diabetic retinopathies, hypertensive retinopathy or retinal detachment are
painless, but have in common either an acute or chronic visual loss.
Bleeding (hemorrhage) is always an alarm sign. It can occur at different
levels. On the surface of the eye (subconjunctival
hemorrhage) it looks impressive, but is usually harmless. In the
case of a vitreous
hemorrhage blood was leaking from brittle vessels as in the case
of diabetic retinopathy (see image from this link) into the vitreous body from
behind. Retinal
hemorrhages occur usually in patients with systemic blood vessel
disease. Itching is a symptom that points to
allergic problems such as in allergic
conjunctivitis. Blind spots (scotomas) are
often not noticed by the patient until they invade the central vision. However,
early detection of blind spots in the periphery when visual
field tests are done can detect glaucoma at an early stage and prompt
treatment can prevent permanent visual loss. Refractive
errors are common and can be corrected with eye glasses
or contact lenses. If this cannot be done for both eyes, there could be underlying
eye disease such as amblyopia or other conditions and an eye specialist should
be involved in further testing. Floaters are
a common occurrence and are of no significance in most people. However, when they
suddenly occur in a shortsighted person or in an older person and interfere with
normal vision, an eye specialist should do a careful examination including indirect
ophthalmoscopy to rule out a retinal tear or a small area of retinal detachment.
Here is a table with some of the more common eye diseases and their symptoms.
| Some common
eye symptoms | | Signs
and symptoms: | Possible underlying
eye conditions: | | bleeding
(hemorrhage) | subconjunctival
hemorrhage , vitreous
hemorrhage , retinal
hemorrhages | | blind
spots (scotomas) | could
be early sign of glaucoma, retinal
problems or optic
neuropathy | | blindness | optic
atrophy and macular degeneration |
floaters | mostly
harmless, but could be indicator of retinal tear
(in myopic and elderly people) | | light
sensitivity | found with
iritis (uveitis), often associated with rheumatoid
arthritis, ankylosing
spondylitis, lupus |
| pain | uveitis
(iritis), acute glaucoma, trauma
to the eye | | refractive
error | hyperopia, myopia
or astigmatism | | visual
loss | associated with any
more serious eye diseases such as glaucoma, optic
neuropathy, diabetic neuropathy, age-related
macular degeneration, amblyopia
(particularly important to detect in young children), retinal
detachment |
|
|
