Today, technology-oriented working conditions and lifestyle changes cause more eye diseases in adults than in previous years. Adult eye diseases, when not treated effectively, negatively affect people's quality of life. With early diagnosis and effective treatment, most eye diseases can be treated without causing damage.
What are Adult Eye Diseases?
Eye diseases in adults include many diseases that originate solely from the eye or occur secondary to systemic diseases. The most common adult eye diseases are:
Near and far vision defects (refraction errors)
Corneal diseases (such as keratitis, corneal ulcer, keratoconus)
Strabismus and eye movement disorders
Eyelid deformities and tear duct problems
Eye infections
Glaucoma
Cataracts
Retinal diseases (such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy)
Optic nerve diseases
General Symptoms of Eye Diseases
Eye disorders seen in adults are classified according to the affected part of the eye. causes different clinical findings. Some of the most common symptoms and possible clinical pictures in eye diseases can be listed as follows:
Stinging, watering, redness in the eyes: Eye infections (conjunctivitis) or the presence of a foreign body in the eye
Continuous watering in the eyes, Crying-like tear flow and burrs: Tear duct obstruction
Severe eye itching, redness and burning sensation: Allergic conditions
Swelling of the eyelids: Infections or allergic conditions
Narrowing of the visual field and sudden loss of vision: Optic nerve or retina diseases
Sudden eye misalignment with double vision: Eye muscle paralysis
In adults Causes of Headaches
Headache is one of the most important problems that people have experienced from past to present. Headache, which can be seen due to many reasons, may also occur due to eye diseases. When headache is experienced rarely and with mild clinical findings, it is generally While it does not constitute a headache, when it becomes continuous (chronic headache), it severely impairs people's quality of life. Headache causes in adults may be neurological or non-neurological. Sinusitis and refractive errors are the leading causes of non-neurological headaches.
What Causes Increased Intracranial Pressure?
One of the most important neurological causes of headache is increased pressure in the head. Increased production of cerebrospinal marrow fluid or a problem in the excretory pathways within the head causes an increase in intracranial pressure, and if this pressure is not diagnosed and treated early, it causes serious problems.
How is Intracranial Pressure Treated?
For the treatment plan of intracranial pressure, the underlying cause must first be found. The treatment of patients with increased intracranial pressure is carried out in a multi-disciplinary manner by the Brain Surgery, Neurology and Ophthalmology units.
What are Optic Nerve Diseases?
Optic nerve diseases include disease groups that are considered urgent by ophthalmologists. Optic neuropathy is one of the most common optic nerve diseases. It can be defined as the inflammatory response seen in the optic nerve, caused by infection or non-infectious factors. Optic neuropathy can be seen in all age groups. Decrease in visual acuity, deterioration in color vision, loss of contrast sensitivity, and narrowing of the visual field are the most common complaints in optic neuropathy patients.
Due to the urgency between adult and pediatric eye diseases, optic nerve diseases, especially optic neuropathies, are separated. it must have a place. For the diagnosis of optic neuropathy, a detailed eye examination, advanced tests such as VEP and Visual Field tests, and neuroimaging techniques (MRI, MR Angiography, etc.) are used. A few of the most common causes of optic neuropathy are:
Ischemic Optic Neuropathy
The visual nerves (optic nerves) in the eyes are supplied with blood by thin capillaries. In case of blockages or lack of blood supply in the capillaries feeding the optic nerves, a series of pathophysiological events called ischemia occur in the optic nerves. Edema and cellular loss (atrophy) develop in the optic nerves over time. This disease is usually caused by diabetes and hypertension. It is seen in systemic diseases that cause microvascular damage, such as hypertension.
Toxic Optic Neuropathy
This condition, which most commonly occurs as a result of ethambutol and methyl alcohol poisoning, is a type of optic neuropathy that occurs after toxic effects on the optic nerve. However, in case of early intervention, permanent damage to the optic nerve can be minimized.
Hereditary Optic Neuropathy
Some optic nerve diseases are hereditary. Various inheritance patterns can be seen in a group of optic neuropathy called Hereditary Optic Neuropathies. The most common type of hereditary optic neuropathy is mitochondrial inherited optic neuropathy, known as Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.
Traumatic Optic Neuropathy
It is an optic neuropathy condition that occurs as a result of direct or indirect trauma to the eye. It is common after in-vehicle or extra-vehicular trauma. Depending on the extent of damage; It can cause clinical findings in a spectrum ranging from mild vision loss to more severe and profound vision loss.
Optic Neuropathy Diagnosis and Treatment
Optic neuropathy presents clinically with deterioration in optic nerve function. For this reason, in the evaluations made by the Brain Surgery and Neurology units, when optic neuropathy is suspected, a detailed eye examination is performed by an ophthalmologist. If the patient has optic neuropathy findings, the diagnosis of optic neuropathy is supported by radiological tests and blood tests.
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