Weird and Rare Eye Diseases and Injuries

Lucky for the people who see the beauty of nature, beautiful places and surroundings, happy faces of different people in all walks of life, colors, shapes of objects, and so many more sights seen by our eyes. But, have we asked ourselves, what about the people who lost their sights, how do they feel? All they could see is darkness and they are the less fortunate ones, who were deprived of seeing the beauty of nature and its surroundings.There are blind personalities, who became famous in their fields of endeavors. We should be aware and take care of our most precious eyes, which is the window of our soul.

1) Glaucoma

Glaucoma is an eye disease wherein the optic nerve suffering permanent damage of vision in the effected eye(s) and progress for complete blindness if untreated. Oftentimes, aqueous humour (the thick watery substance filling the space between the lens and cornea) increased pressure the fluid of the eyes. Glaucoma is divided into two categories, the open angle and the close angle glaucoma. The close angle glaucoma, suddenly appear, quick visual loss and painful discomfort of the eyes. Patient should seek immediate medical treatment, before damage will occur. Open angle glaucoma, is chronic glaucoma, has a  slower progress rate, and patient affected with open glaucoma may not notice that they have lost vision until the disease has progressed. Glaucoma is called the “silent thief of sight”.

Andrea Boccili (David Foster Mandalay)courtesy of: contactmusic.com

Andrea Boccili, diagnosed with congenital glaucoma, and became totally blind at the age of 12 after a football accident. Andrea Boccili, is a famous Italian tenor.

Retinopathy of prematurity(ROP) also known as retro lental fibroplasia (RLF), is an eye disorder or disease of prematurely born infants, and it was believed, that the cause is abnormal growth of retinal blood vessels converge and cause retina detachment, and causes permanent blindness. Hypoxia, is an acute insufficient oxygen in infants that causes ROP.

Stevland Hardaway Judkins, or famously known Stevie Wonder, became blind shortly after birth. Stevie was born six weeks prematurely, and the blood vessels at the back of his eyes, had not reach the front and aborted the retinas to detach.

3) Nystagmus Eye Disorder

Nystagmus is an involuntary eye movement, and the presence can be benign.

Buphthalmos also known as Infant Glaucoma or Buphthalmia, is an eye disease affecting newborn babies, appearing to be an autosomal recessive trait within the first three months.

Ray Charles Robinson, or much known as Ray Charles, an American musician, lost his sight permanently at the age of seven, and most probably affected by Buphthalmia or infant glaucoma.

5) Aniridia Eye Disorder

Aniridia Eyes (Wikipedia)

Aniridia is an eye disorder, wherein the iris of the eyes are absent, and usually occurs in both eyes. It can be congenital or in some cases eye injury causes Aniridia. Te PAX6 gene causes the cornea to be transparent leading to lost of sight.

6) Pars Planitis or Uveitis Eye Disease

7) Azoor Eye Disease

Azoor eye disease also known as “acute zonal occult retinopathy”, a rare eye disease which is characterized by sudden onset of retina inflammation and lead to blindness.

Cataract

Cataract eye disease, is the clouding vision developing in the crystalline lens of the eye(s) or the eye envelope, that varies in degree from slight to total opacity and obstructing the passage of light. The early-development of cataract usually according to age and the lens power could increase, causing “Myopia”(near sightedness) and yellowish opacification of lens reduced the blue color perception. Cataracts usually progress very slow, but could cause blindness if left untreated. Senile cataract occurs in elderly.

Bilateral cataracts in an infant due to Congenital Rubella Syndrome. Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS), usually occurs in developing fetus of a pregnant mother, who was contaminated with rubella in her first trimester, or 28 days before conception.

9) Mobius Syndrome /Moebius Syndrome

Mobius syndrome, a rare congenital neurological syndrome, described with facial paralysis and inability of eye movement side by side. Patient with mobius syndrome, are born with facial paralysis completely and cannot close their eyes as form of any facial expressions.

10) Strabismus Eye Disorder

Strabismus or Misaligned Eyes (Wikipedia)

Strabismus is an eye disorder or misaligned of the eyes, prevents bringing the gaze of both eyes to the same point and space.

11) Amblyopia Eye Disorder or Lazy Eyes

Amblyopia or Lazy Eyes, is an eye disorder of the visual system characterized by indistinct or poor vision. Prolong staying awake of patient affected by amblyopia, the eyelids close involuntarily.

Ptosis also called “Lazy Eye”

Ptosis is the drooping of the eyelid (lower or upper), and may become worse after being awake longer, when the muscles get tired. It is also called the lazy eyes like the ‘amblyopia’.

12) Stye Eye Disease

Stye on an Eyelid (Wikipedia)

The stye is an external eye disease or the base of eyelashes inflammation or “hordeolum”, is the sebaceous glands of Zeis infection, or apocrine sweat glands of moll infection. Stye treatment is cold compress for four to six days for every 15 minutes or till the pain subsided.

Blepharitis

Blepharitis is an eye disease described as chronic inflammation of the eyelid, and classified as “seborrhoeic, staphyloccal, posterior or meiobomitis or parasitic”, but resolved without treatment within two to four weeks.

13) Chalazion or Meibomian Gland Lipogranuloma

Chalazion, cyst of the eyelid (Wikipedia)

The ‘Chalazion’ also called ‘meibomian gland lipogranuloma”, ia a cyst growth in the eyelid and causing inflammation of a blocked meibomian gland, usually growing on the upper eyelid. Chalazia is different from the ‘stye eye disease (hordeola) in that they could be acute or chronic, nontender and usually painless lump and take months to heal.

14) Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis Infection or Pink Eye (Wikipedia)

The conjunctivitis or called ‘pink eye’ or madras eye are inflammation of the conjunctiva (outer out-most layer of the eye and inner surface of the eyelids). This is a common eye infection caused by viral infection or in most cases the bacterial infection or it can be result of allergy reaction.

Red Eye

Red Eye Effect in Blue Eyes (Wikipedia)

Red eye in medical term is non-specific term that characterized a ‘ red eye’, due to illness, injury or some ‘conjunctivitis’ condition, blood-shot eyes are kinds of red eye disorder, referring to “hyperremia of the superficial blood vessels of the conjunctiva, sclera, or episclera.

15) Pterygium Conjunctiva

The ‘Pterygium conjunctiva or “surfer’s eye”, most often diagnosed as benign growth of conjunctiva, it usually grows from the nasal side of the sclera. Some think too much exposure from ultra-violet rays, like sunlight, dust or low humidity are the main cause of pterygium conjunctiva growth, or predominance of pterygia on the nasal side, have the possibility result of sun rays passing through the cornea and undergo refraction and become focused on the limbic area.

Subconjunctival Hemorrhage

The ‘subconjunctival hemorrhage’, also called “Hyposphagma”, is a bleeding underneath the conjunctiva, contains many tiny fragile blood vessels and could be easily broken or rapture. If the blood vessel rapture, the blood leaks into the spcae between the conjunctiva and sclera, and bruises apparently appear black or blue underneath the skin. The subconjunctival hemorrhage are bright red, and most common causes are eye trauma, high blood pressure, skull fracture, leptopirosis disease (from rats urine or feces) or even during mother’s childbirth especially on normal delivery cases.

16) Corneal Ulcer

The corneal ulcers are common eye diseases to human and animals, caused by eye trauma, maybe as chemical injury, contact lens irritation and infections, like the “Trichiasis Entroipion”.

Entropion and Trichiasis eye infection is a medical condition in which the eyelid, in most cases the lower lid, folds inward. The eyelashes rub the against the cornea that makes it uncomfortable or irritable. Entropion could be congenital or caused by genetic factors like irritation for prolong used of contact lenses.

17)  Trachoma

The “Trachoma” is an eye infection and leading world’s infectious eye diseases and causes permanent blindness. The endemic blinding Trachoma occurs in most cases in slum areas and poor environmental family hygiene. Untreated painful and repeated eye infection of entropion, leads to trachoma or legally blind.

18) Thygeson’s Superficial Punctate Keratopathy (TSPK)

Thygeson’s Superficial Punctate Keratopathy (TSPK), is an eye disease having blurred visions, dry eyes, having a foreign body stuck in the eye sensation, sensitivity to brightness (photophobia), watery eyes and burning sensation feeling. Tiny lumps can be found on the cornea of the eye on an inspection with a slit lamp, and easily seen after ‘flourescein’ or ‘rose bengal dye eyedrops’ treatment. PRK laser eye surgery can treat this disease, eye-drop or optic ointment can also be used in mild cases, soft contact lenses. An experimental treatment for TSPK, usually used during an eye transplant called Ciclosporin, reduces the immune system response.

19) Xanthelasma

The “Xanthelasma” is a yellowish cholesterol collection, appear underneath the eyebrow skin, or it appear commonly around the eyelids. The xanthelasma are not harmful or painful, but these minor growth can be disfiguring and can be removed and treated. The xanthelasma are common to Asian and Mediterranian origin.

20) River Blindness or Onchocerciasis

The “River Blindness” or “Orchocerciasis”, or ‘Roble Disaease’, is a parasitic disease caused by the nematode roundworm (onchocercavolvulus), and these disease is the second world’s leading blindness infectious diseases caused by Black Fly sting. The black fly sting spread its larvae to the body leaving Sub-Saharan African infected and blind.

21) Duane Syndrome

The Duane syndrome is a rare congenital eye movement disorder most commonly described as inability of the eye to abduct or move outwards. It is also known as Duane’s Retraction syndrome or DR syndrome, Eye Retraction syndrome, Congenital Retraction syndrome and Stilling-Turk-Duane syndrome.

Color Blindness or Color Defficiency

Color blind or color deficiency is an eye disorder, that decrease the ability to perceive differences in colors that other could distinguish. The genetic nature occur when the eyes are exposed to certain chemicals, nerve or brain damage, and it is called “Deuteranopia or Protanopia” color blind.

Test for Protanopia color blind, number 37 in the image cannot be seen by protanomic patient.

22) Retinitis Pigmentosa

The Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), is a group of genetic eye disorders leading to incurable blindness. There are some affected with RP that did not become legally blind until they reach the age of 40′s to 50 years older, and could retain their sights all their life.

23) Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is the damage of the retina due to diabetes mellitus complications, and lead to legally blindness. There is no early signs or warning signs, with the diabetic retinopathy. The “macula edema” that causes rapid loss of vision, and symptoms are blurred vision, making hard to even read as the image above described.

Oguchi Disease

The Oguchi disease otherwise known as the ‘congenital stationary night blindness’, is a chromosome tending to go backward form of congenital stationary night blindness related with fundus abnormality slower dark adaptation and discoloration.

24) Leukocoria Eye Disorder

The “Leukocoria”, is an abnormal white reflection from the eye retina, resembling “eyeshine”, but leukocoria can occur in humans and animals because their retina lacks a “Tapetum Lucidum”, a layer of tissues in the eye of various vertebrae animals that lies behind or within the retina. It reflects lights back through the retina that increases light to the photoceptors.

25) Coat’s Disease

Coat’s Disease showing conjunctival hyperemia, mild corneal edema, posterior synechiae and cataract.

The “coat’s disease”, also called ‘exudative retinitis’ or ‘retinal telangiectasis’, is a very rare congenital eye disease, but non-hereditary eye disorder, that causes partial blindness or full blindness, with abnormal blood vessels development behind the retina having similar characteristics of retinoblastoma.