CAUSES OF BLINDNESS

synonym

Amaurosis

English: causes of blindness

Causes and forms of blindness

People in industrialized countries most often go blind as a result of longstanding and untreated diabetes mellitus.
The sugar disease leads to diabetic retinopathy in the long term, which can be associated with profound vision loss or even blindness in one or both eyes.

Another common cause of blindness is what is known as macular degeneration, which usually occurs in old age. The cause is not clear, but the first symptoms are that the patient perceives straight lines as curved. Furthermore, the patients complain that they can no longer clearly see the fixed point (i.e. the area in the center of the field of view). (Self-test macular degeneration) The periphery can be seen as sharply as possible. There is no antidote to macular degeneration. Unfortunately, most of the tried and tested treatment methods consist only of delaying the blindness that sooner or later overtakes every patient with this clinical picture.

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Glaucoma (glaucoma) is also a common cause of blindness in western industrialized countries. The intraocular pressure increases for various reasons. The patient usually does not notice this increase in pressure. The pressure arises because either too much aqueous humor is produced or a corresponding part of the aqueous humor produced cannot flow off properly, which leads to pressure on the eyeball and the vitreous humor within.
This in turn leads to an increased pressure on the retina and on the optic nerve, which only tolerates a certain increase in pressure undamaged. Patients who go to the ophthalmologist complain of what is known as tunnel vision, a visual field restriction that mainly affects the periphery and slowly fills the entire field of vision. Today glaucoma can be treated well.
For this purpose, either eye drops are prescribed for regular intake or an eye operation is carried out in which the drainage channels are made freely accessible again so that the aqueous humor can drain off and the intraocular pressure drops. In the advanced stages of the disease, however, these remedies, which are more suitable in the early stages, are no longer effective. Patients who go to the ophthalmologist with advanced glaucoma and already describe tunnel vision usually lose their eyesight completely in the next few months to years.
Not quite as common but an important component of blindness are injuries to the eye. There are two age peaks in which eye injuries occur particularly frequently:

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On the one hand, the child's age should be mentioned here, because children can be so badly injured by sharp and pointed objects when romping around or playing that their eyesight can no longer be saved despite immediate help from an ophthalmologist.

The second peak frequency of eye injuries is in adulthood, as adults can suffer similar eye injuries with similar consequences either at work (e.g. construction site) or in a car accident. In addition to piercing through the eyeball with sharp objects, traumatic causes, chemical burns to the eye from acids or alkalis, can lead to blindness. In addition to the hobby (e.g. Restoration of old furniture) is the most common cause of such eye injuries.

Also common causes of blindness are the consequences of a Uveitis. Mostly the causes lie in an autoimmune reaction, such as e.g. at rheumatism or ankylosing spondylitis occurrence. The symptoms are usually initially photophobia and tears in the eyes, as well as eye pain and protein leakage. In some severe forms of uveitis, the therapeutic measures taken are no longer sufficient and the patient becomes blind.
Chronic uveitides, which keep recurring despite treatment, are particularly dangerous.

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There is also a risk of blindness with the as Retinal ablation described Retinal detachment. Especially patients with a high myopia are at risk of retinal detachment, as the increasingly elongated eye exerts a dangerous pull on the retina. The patients first describe flashes of light and a so-called soot rain that pushes itself into the field of vision either from above to below or upside down (small black spots).

In the event of a retinal detachment, extreme urgency is required because one Blindness threatens. Depending on where and in what context the retinal detachment took place, the risk of blindness is higher or lower. Patients whose retina has already loosened a great deal and parts of the macula are particularly at risk. In this case it is usually no longer possible to save the eyesight, despite immediate measures being taken quickly.

In all other cases, e.g. If the retina has not yet completely detached and the macula has not yet been affected, the eyesight can usually be saved. To do this, the vitreous humor is removed and an oil is poured into the eye. With the filling, the retina rests against the fundus again. Patients with the oil mostly have blurred vision. The oil must remain in the eye for a few weeks before it can be drained.

There are other causes of blindness in developing countries. That would be mentioned cataract (cataract), which in western countries can be remedied by routine intervention. In countries where there is no statutory health insurance, however, those affected often cannot pay for the procedure and have to accept increasing lens opacity (almost 100% of patients in old age). If the lens is completely cloudy, one speaks of a matures cataract. The observer mostly notices it through the gray to white colored lens. The patients with a mature cataract are by definition blind, if not irreversible, because a cataract operation carried out later brings the patient's eyesight back again.
First of all, the causes of blindness are Trachoma, the Onchocerciasis and the Keratomalacia.
Trachoma is an infectious disease caused by the pathogen Chlamydia trachomatiswhich is often transmitted by flies. The infection usually occurs in early childhood. First of all, so-called folliclewhich enlarge in the course and finally burst. They empty secretions with the pathogen into the conjunctival sac. This leads to scarring, to entropion (the eyelashes are bent inwards and drag against the Cornea along), which in turn leads to scratching and ultimately scarring of the cornea. In addition, the inflammation can lead to excessive tissue proliferation, which then causes a connective tissue plate with numerous vessels to grow over the cornea Pannus on the eye referred to as.
The Onchocerciasis occurs mostly in tropical countries and is transmitted by Onchocerca volvulus via the Simulium mosquito. The disease, also known as river blindness, affects around 50 million people. 1 million of them are blind. After infection, punctiform opacities develop in the cornea, always where cells die. In the course of the disease, the number of opacities can increase so much that the patient can no longer recognize anything.
Keratomalacia, another cause of blindness in developing countries, is primarily caused by one Vitamin A Lack of eye. With a defect of this type it comes to Night blindness, and in extreme cases, for corneal melting. In Asia, around 5-10 million people, mainly children, are affected by visual impairment due to a vitamin A deficiency. It is important to first recognize the cause of the visual impairment. If a vitamin A deficiency is confirmed, the most effective therapy is a substitution of 200,000 IU of vitamin A (injection into the muscle). Also those containing vitamin A. eye drop can speed up the recovery process. In the long term, the patient's eating habits must be changed and made richer in vitamins so that a deficiency does not recur, if possible.