Ophthalmology is a field of clinical medicine that studies eye diseases: pathological conditions of the eyeball and the accessory apparatus of the eye – lacrimal glands, eyelids, conjunctiva, as well as bone and soft tissue structures surrounding the eyes.
The most important task of ophthalmology is the development and improvement of methods for the prevention, detection and treatment of eye diseases aimed at preserving and correcting visual function. Specialists in the field of eye diseases are ophthalmologists. More narrow ophthalmological specialties include surgical and laser ophthalmology, ophthalmooncology, ophthalmic traumatology, pediatric ophthalmology, etc.
The visual analyzer is a unique sense organ in its meaning. With the help of vision, a person receives up to 80% of information about the world around him. Unfortunately, the percentage of people suffering from eye diseases worldwide is steadily increasing. Therefore, it is so important to have an idea of the first signs of eye diseases, measures for the prevention of ophthalmopathology and ways of its treatment, as well as to understand the importance of timely seeking qualified ophthalmological care.
A disease of this category can occur at any age: they can be genetically determined, congenital, acquired. In children, a significant decrease and loss of vision leads to a delay in mental development, negatively affects the speech function, the motor sphere in the future, forms distorted, fuzzy, fragmentary ideas about the surrounding reality, makes it difficult to establish social ties and behavioral skills in society.
In this regard, the system of early care in ophthalmology provides screening of newborns, children of early, preschool and school age in order to identify subclinical signs (retinopathy of prematurity, strabismus, amblyopia, glaucoma, cataracts, myopia, hyperopia, etc.) and provide early correctional medical and pedagogical assistance.
Acquired diseases can be associated with common and infectious human diseases: beriberi A, measles rubella, diabetes mellitus, injuries, chronic foci of bacterial infection, hypertension, atherosclerosis, renal pathology, neurological diseases, pregnancy pathology, etc. Most often in ophthalmology eye diseases are diagnosed, characterized by abnormalities in the optical apparatus of the eye – hyperopia, presbyopia, myopia, astigmatism, etc.
A large group of eye diseases consists of inflammatory pathology of various structures of the organ of vision – conjunctivitis, keratitis, blepharitis, iridocyclitis, retinitis, uveitis, endophthalmitis, barley, etc. Traumatic damage to the structures of the eye is extremely dangerous in its consequences – burns, mechanical damage to the eyes, ingestion of foreign bodies.
Diseases can develop acutely or gradually, suddenly manifesting itself with a sharp decrease in vision. This kind of pathology primarily includes diseases of the neurovascular apparatus of the eye: atrophy of the optic nerve, ischemic neuropathy of the optic nerve, occlusion of the arteries and veins of the retina, chorioretinal dystrophy, etc. Factors that negatively affect the function of vision and increase the risk of eye diseases are considered age, chronic heart and vascular diseases, metabolic diseases, adverse environmental conditions, stress, smoking, deficiency of vitamins and rare trace elements (zinc, selenium), etc.
The last decades have been marked by the rapid development of ophthalmology. At the disposal of specialists today are modern equipment, innovative technologies, minimally invasive techniques. To detect eye diseases, a large range of diagnostic techniques is used – test, biometric, ultrasound, electrophysiological, X-ray, optical, laboratory, etc. Laser installations used for vision correction, treatment of corneal and retinal pathology, glaucoma and cataracts have found wide application in the surgery of eye diseases.
Traditional therapeutic manipulations, hardware methods of vision correction, microsurgical techniques for the treatment have not lost their relevance in ophthalmology. To date, most surgical interventions in ophthalmology can be performed on an outpatient basis.
Pollinous conjunctivitis is an allergic condition, one of the components of pollinosis, manifested by inflammation of the conjunctiva of the eyes due to intolerance to the substances of flower pollen of some plants. Symptoms of pathology are lacrimation, itching, burning, redness of the eyes, swelling of the eyelids, photophobia, in severe cases – ulceration of…
Polycoria is an ophthalmopathology in which two or more pupils are located in the iris. Clinical manifestations include visual discomfort, decreased visual acuity, the appearance of “fog” in front of the eyes, photophobia. A physical examination is sufficient to make a diagnosis. In order to clarify the form of the disease, a test with mydriatics,…
Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetically heterogeneous hereditary disease characterized by impaired functioning of the retinal pigment epithelium with the development of various disorders. The manifestations and severity of symptoms depend on the form of pathology, most often there is a decrease in acuity and narrowing of the field of vision, the development of scotoma and…
Pigmentary glaucoma is more often a binocular pathology of the visual organ, the development of which is based on the degeneration of the pigment epithelium. Symptoms of this pathology are the appearance of “rainbow circles” or “fog” in front of the eyes, a violation of accommodation, headache spreading to the eye socket and brow arches.…
Peripheral retinal dystrophy is a disease characterized by thinning of the inner lining of the eye in the peripheral parts. For a long time, the pathology has an asymptomatic course. With a pronounced lesion of the retina, “flies” appear in front of the eyes, the function of peripheral vision is impaired. Diagnostics includes ophthalmoscopy, perimetry,…
Paratrachoma is a form of conjunctivitis in adults, characterized by damage to the mucous membrane of the eye with chlamydia infection. The main symptoms of the disease: increased tearing, photophobia, hyperemia, burning sensation and pain in the eyes. To make a diagnosis, the technique of fluorescent antibodies, enzyme immunoassay, polymerase chain reaction, biomicroscopy, ultrasound, ophthalmoscopy,…
Accommodation paralysis is a disorder in which, due to refractive errors, it is temporarily impossible to change the optical installation of the eyeball. Clinical manifestations include decreased visual acuity in the vicinity, increased visual fatigue, difficulty concentrating when looking at closely located objects. Diagnostics is based on computer refractometry, visometry, and the study of the…
Paralytic strabismus is a disease characterized by a deviation of the visual axis of the eye from the general fixation point. Clinical manifestations of the disease are impaired mobility of the eyeball, double vision, headache, increased visual fatigue. In the process of diagnosing paralytic strabismus, the degree of deviation and mobility of the eyeballs is…
Eyelid papillomas are tumor–like neoplasms on the skin of the eyelid resulting from infection with the human papillomavirus. Usually papillomas are manifested only by a cosmetic defect, with some localizations, pain, foreign body sensation and other symptoms are possible. For diagnostics, visiometry, tonometry, refractometry, computer perimetry, biomicroscopy using a slit lamp are used. Of the…
Panophthalmitis is a total purulent inflammation and melting of all structures and membranes of the eyeball. With panophthalmitis, there is a sharp pain in the eye socket and in the head on the side of the lesion, lacrimation, photophobia, swelling and chemosis of the conjunctiva, blepharospasm, chills, fever, vision loss. Diagnosis of panophthalmitis is based…
