Eye diseases affect a substantial portion of the U.S. population. The eyes can develop transient or chronic diseases, ranging in severity from mild to potentially vision-threatening. The eyes are complex structures, composed of diverse tissue types that manifest disease in varying ways. In keeping with the variable nature of eye diseases, potential treatments include an array of modalities, including medicines, surgery and laser therapy.
Antibacterial and Antiviral Medications
Topical and oral antibacterial and antiviral medications remain the principal form of treatment for infectious diseases of the eye. For example, eye infections caused by the herpes simplex virus or the varicella zoster virus can be vision-threatening and are typically treated with oral and topical antiviral medications, reports the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center.
Common causes of bacterial infections of the eye, or infectious conjunctivitis, include Staph. aureus, Strep. pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, reports the patient information website All About Vision. Treatment of these infections typically involves a course of antibiotic eyedrops and ointments.
Lens Removal and Replacement
Cataract is a leading cause of eye disease, affecting more than 22 million adults and children in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health. Clouding of the normally clear internal lens of the eye defines the condition, which may involve one or both eyes. Progressive loss of vision occurs as lens clouding intensifies. Left untreated, cataract eventually leads to blindness.
Surgical removal of the cloudy lens remains the definitive treatment for cataract. In most cases, a permanent artificial replacement lens is inserted into the eye at the time of surgery. The National Eye Institute reports that cataract surgery is one of the common surgical procedures performed in the United States.
Laser Trabeculoplasty
Glaucoma is a common, chronic, vision-threatening disease caused by increased pressure within the eye. A jelly-like fluid produced within the eye fills the interior of the eyeball. The eye normally produces and drains the fluid at equal rates, thereby maintaining a low level of pressure within the eye. The different forms of glaucoma share the common feature of an imbalance between fluid production and drainage within the eye. Impaired fluid drainage with an associated increase in internal eye pressure is the hallmark feature of glaucoma.
Laser trabeculoplasty is one of the principal forms of treatment for glaucoma, note Dr. Young Kwon and colleagues in a 2006 online article provided by MedRounds Publications. The treatment involves use of a highly focused laser beam to broaden the intraocular drainage ducts, reducing fluid accumulation and the elevated pressure within the eye. Young notes that use of laser trabeculoplasty is usually limited to patients with open-angle forms of glaucoma.
References
- University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center: Herpes Zoster (Shingles)
- National Eye Institute: Cataracts
- All About Vision: Conjunctivitis: Bacterial, Viral, Allergic and Other Types
- NIH MedlinePlus Magazine: Leading Causes of Blindness
- "Med Rounds"; A Patient's Guide to Glaucoma; Young Kwon, M.D., Ph.D. et al.; 2006.
