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Opening our eyes to the morning light doesn't seem to be a blessing to us. We take it for granted as it is our everyday reality. However, for many, the reality is completely different. They wake up to darkness every morning. They desperately wish they could see the morning light and everything else that surrounds them. Visual impairment is challenge and helplessness that millions live with, all across the world. However, there is good news for people with this condition. Nature probably has a surprise cure for blindness in its store. A new study published by the journal American Chemical Society has revealed that homoisoflavonoids found in the Hyacinthaceae plant family can stem the growth of new blood vessel cells that can lead to blindness-inducing vision disorders. These disorders include retinopathy of prematurity, proliferative diabetic retinopathy and older age-related macular degeneration.
According to the 2018 estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO), some sort of visual impairment affects 1.3 billion people globally. The world body also revealed that 36 billion people live with distance vision blindness while 826 million people suffer from near vision impairment all over the world. While all sorts of blindness are not treatable, there are some which can be improved and cured too. The line of treatment, however, depends on the underlying cause. According to the WHO, cataract is the most common cause of blindness (51 per cent). Here, Dr. Piyush Kapur, Director of Ophthalmology, The Healing Touch, Specialty Eye Centre, Delhi sheds light on the top 4 causes behind vision loss.
According to the National Blindness Survey (2015-2018), which was conducted by the Union Health Ministry in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, approximately 62 to 65 percent cases of cataract are the leading causes of blindness in the Indian population. A cataract is the clouding of your eye lenses. This condition can either impair your vision partially or lead to total vision loss, says Dr. Kapur. Cataract is characterized by blurred vision, sensitivity to light, frequent changes in the eyeglass, fading of colours, double vision in a single eye, etc. It basically develops when age or eye injury changes the tissues that compose your eye lenses. There are factors like past eye surgery, long-term use of steroid medications, diabetes, smoking, obesity etc. which can increase your risk of developing a cataract. As you age, your eye lenses, which help in producing sharp and clear image on the retina, become less flexible, thicker, and less transparent. Gradually, it leads to breakage of tissues within the lenses. Further, these tissues clump together within the lenses. The process continues making the clouding more dense which, in turn, scatters and blocks the light passing through the lenses. This prevents your retina to get the defined image resulting in blurred vision, says Dr. Kapur. Luckily, this condition is treatable through an eye surgery in which the cloudy lens is replaced with an artificial one. Also, you can prevent a cataract from occurring by going for regular eye check-ups, quitting smoking, wearing sunglasses, reducing alcohol use, and managing other health problems like diabetes. Eating vitamin A-rich foods will also strengthen your vision.
Glaucoma is considered as the second most common cause of blindness. It is an eye condition in which your optic nerves (they transmit images to your brain) get damaged due to a pressure build-up inside your eye. This is known as intraocular pressure, says Dr. Kapur. The pressure occurs due to the blockage of a channel through which a fluid known as aqueous humor flows out of your eyes. The cause behind this blockage is unknown. However, doctors blame severe eye infection, chemical injury, and inflammatory conditions for this condition. Its symptoms include redness in the eye, eye pain, nausea, blurred vision or complete loss of vision. Most of the times, it has been found to be an inherited disease that shows symptoms later in life. If the damage continues, it can cause permanent loss of vision. Sadly, vision loss due to glaucoma cannot be treated but its symptoms can be managed if the condition is diagnosed early. If you fall in the high risk group for glaucoma, visit an ophthalmologist for check-ups at regular intervals after 40. The factors that up your chances of suffering from glaucoma include age, diabetes, eye trauma, certain steroids, or a family history of the condition. Your doctor may perform a test called tonometry to check your eye pressure. The line of treatment includes eye drops, laser surgery or microsurgery. Notably, the condition is not preventable.
In diabetics, the blood supply to the retina becomes low making this sensory eye membrane weak. The blood supply depletes because high sugar levels damage the blood vessels of the tissue at the back of retina. As a result, your eye starts developing new blood vessels that do not grow properly and leak easily. This condition is known as diabetic retinopathy, which results in blindness, says Dr. Kapur. Diabetic retinopathy can develop in anyone with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. If you have diabetic retinopathy, you may experience symptoms like blurred vision, spots floating in your vision, fluctuating vision or complete vision loss. Apart from diabetes, other factors like high cholesterol, high sugar levels, hypertension, and tobacco usecan increase your risk of developing this condition. But the good news is that you can prevent diabetic retinopathy by managing your blood sugar levels, keeping blood pressure and cholesterol under control, and quitting smoking. As far as its diagnosis is concerned, doctors perform a comprehensive dilated eye exam in which they look for abnormal eye vessels, growth of new vessels, abnormalities in your optic nerves, and swelling in the retina. If the condition is diagnosed early, it can be treated through laser treatments like photocoagulation and panretinal photocoagulation, surgical removal of scar tissues or injectable medicines.
Retinal detachment
It is a condition in which a thin layer of retinal tissue pulls away from its normal position causing separation of retinal cells from the blood vessels nourishing it and providing oxygen. This condition is characterized by sudden appearance of flashes and floaters in the vision, blurred vision, a shadow like or reduced side vision, says Dr. Kapur. Ageing, family history of this condition, myopia, previous eye surgery, or an eye injury can increase your risk of developing retinal detachment. If you keep this condition untreated for long, you will run the risk of permanent vision loss, adds Dr. Kapur. It can be diagnosed by examining your eyes after dilating the eye balls with a drop. An ultrasound may be performed for measuring the exact damage. In case you are going through retinal detachment, doctors may perform cryotherapy (providing cold temperature to destroy abnormal tissues), or resort to surgical procedures that push the retina back in place.