06 Eye Diseases
06 00 Amblyopia
06 01 Cataract
06 02 Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS)
06 03 Disorders of conjunctiva
06 04 Disorders of the lacrimal system
06 05 Glaucoma
06 06 Microphthalmos, Anophthalmos, and Coloboma (MAC)
06 10 Uveitis
06 11 Visual disturbances
Developmental problems, injury, or breakdown of any part of the eye can change vision and cause vision loss. Each part of the eye works to turn light into images. If one or more parts of the eye don’t work correctly, the light information our brain receives may change or not arrive. Some of the most common eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and inherited retinal diseases, are caused by damage to retinal cells.
Understanding the color treatment system is crucial because it can guide you through your treatment journey. Each disease or condition is assigned a unique code that includes a treatment color. This system helps you quickly identify treatment options for your specific condition, empowering you to take control of your health.
Scroll down the site to find your disease or condition. Then, you look for the treatment color. The treatment colors are magenta (red-blue), blue, cyan (blue-green), green, yellow (red-green), and red. I give the treatment colors a number. Magenta = 0, blue = 1, cyan = 2, green = 3, yellow = 4, and red = 5. For instance, Amblyopia (Lazy eye) would be categorized as 06-00-1. Here, the last digit, the treatment color, is blue. The first two digits are the disease/condition group (Eye Diseases are 06). The next two digits (Amblyopia (Lazy eye) is 00) are the illness within the group, and the last digit (blue is 1) is the treatment color. This system helps you quickly identify treatment options for your specific condition.
When you use the projector, click your treatment color to display a large image. Make the color cover the whole page, then project it onto yourself. When you use the spotlight or the LED light bulb, you choose your color manually.
A lazy eye (amblyopia) is diminished vision in one eye caused by abnormal visual development in early life. The weaker, or lazy, eye often turns inward or outward.
Amblyopia can develop from birth through age seven and is the leading cause of reduced vision in children. A lazy eye rarely affects both eyes.
A cataract develops when the lens in your eye, which is usually clear, becomes foggy. For your eye to see, light must pass through a transparent lens. The lens is behind your iris (the colored part of your eye). It focuses light so your brain can process it into an image.
When a cataract clouds the lens, your eye cannot focus light properly. This can cause blurry vision or other vision loss (difficulty seeing). Vision changes depend on the cataract’s location and size.
Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) is a condition in which visual hallucinations occur due to vision loss. CBS is not associated with psychosis or dementia, and individuals with CBS recognize that their hallucinations are not real. The hallucinations experienced by individuals with CBS can be described as either simple or complex. Simple hallucinations involve shapes and patterns, while complex hallucinations involve people, vehicles, animals, and plants. Hallucination episodes may last from a few seconds to hours and can recur over days to years.
The conjunctiva covers the white of the eye. Irritation or damage to this surface can lead to conjunctival disease. Injury, infection, chemical irritation, allergic reactions, dry eye, and, rarely, cancer can damage the conjunctiva. Inflammation of the conjunctiva is known as conjunctivitis. Inflammation may be caused by infection (such as trachoma) or by an autoimmune response in which the body attacks itself using the system that typically fights off infection. Age can also make the conjunctiva loose and prone to folding.
Symptoms of conjunctival disease may range from redness and irritation to discharge, swollen eyelids, burning, and pain. Some conjunctival conditions can cause significant scarring.
The lacrimal system, or apparatus, is the anatomical system that includes the ocular structures responsible for tear production and drainage. Therefore, any disruption in tear production or drainage can cause lacrimal disorders, leading to acute or chronic eye discomfort.
Dry eye is one of the most common eye problems. As we age, the protective tear film on the eye’s surface thins, leaving the delicate tissues vulnerable to the drying effects of air, wind, dust, and sunlight.
Wet eyes result from blockages in the lacrimal drainage system that prevent tears from draining into the nose, causing them to accumulate on the lower eyelid and spill onto the face.
Bacterial conjunctivitis is characterized by lid swelling, yellowish discharge, a scratchy sensation in the eye, and itching and watering, especially upon waking in the morning.
Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, which is vital for good vision. This damage is often caused by abnormally high eye pressure.
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in people over age 60.
While it can occur at any age, it is more common in older adults. Vision loss from glaucoma cannot be reversed. Therefore, regular eye exams that include eye pressure measurements are essential so doctors can diagnose it early and treat it appropriately.
Microphthalmia is an eye abnormality that develops before birth. In this condition, one or both eyeballs are abnormally small; in some affected individuals, the eyeball may appear absent. However, even in these cases, some eye tissue is generally present. Severe microphthalmia should be distinguished from anophthalmia, which occurs when no eyeball forms. Despite this distinction, people often use the terms anophthalmia and severe microphthalmia interchangeably.
Microphthalmia may or may not result in significant vision loss. People with microphthalmia may also have coloboma, which is characterized by missing tissue in the structures that form the eye. Colobomas may appear as notches or gaps in the colored part of the eye, known as the iris.
Uveitis is a group of diseases that cause inflammation of the uvea, the eye’s middle layer, which contains most of the eye’s blood vessels. These diseases can damage eye tissue and may lead to vision loss. People of all ages can be affected.
Symptoms may resolve quickly or persist for an extended period. Individuals with immune system conditions, such as AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, or ulcerative colitis, may be at higher risk of developing uveitis. Symptoms often include blurred vision, eye pain, redness, and light sensitivity.
Visual disturbances occur when you experience a brief episode of flashing or shimmering light in your vision. Symptoms typically last about 20 minutes before your vision returns to normal. Usually, the visual disturbance is not accompanied by a headache.