Obvious eye abnormalities that can be seen without the aid of special instruments are known as gross eye disorders. Some gross eye disorders appear serious but do not threaten vision. Other gross eye disorders can lead to permanent vision loss or blindness without appropriate intervention. Early diagnosis and treatment can often preserve sight and correct vision-threatening gross eye disorders.
Subconjunctival Hemorrhage
A thin, clear layer of tissue, known as the conjunctiva, covers the surface of the eye. Tiny blood vessels in the white area of the eye occasionally burst, causing blood leakage between the white eye layer and the conjunctiva. The bleeding, called a subconjunctival hemorrhage, appears as a bright red patch in the white area of the eye.
A blow to the eye can cause a subconjunctival hemorrhage. These eye bleeds also commonly occur spontaneously or in association with coughing, sneezing or vomiting, notes MayoClinic.com. High blood pressure, blood-thinning medication, inherited bleeding disorders and diabetes may increase the risk for a subconjunctival bleed. Although a subconjunctival hemorrhage has an alarming appearance, it does not pose a threat to vision. The bleed usually clears without treatment within 10 to 14 days.
Crossed Eyes
A crossed eye, or strabismus, is a potentially vision-threatening problem that occurs in infants and young children. With strabismus, one eye points inward or outward instead of straight ahead. The misalignment of the eyes causes the brain to progressively "ignore" input from the crossed eye. Predominance of one eye with decreased vision in the other is called amblyopia, or lazy eye. Loss of depth perception and permanent vision loss in the crossed, amblyopic eye may occur without early correction of the disorder, notes the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center.
Treatment for strabismus often involves patching the correctly aligned eye, forcing the misaligned eye to work harder. Eye doctors also commonly recommend surgical rebalancing of the eye muscle to realign the crossed eye.
Corneal Clouding
The cornea is the clear, rounded structure in front of the colored area of the eye. Images pass through the cornea before entering the black pupil at the center of the eye. A variety of diseases and disorders can cause corneal clouding and loss of visual clarity, reports the Wills Eye Institute.
Infections that scar the cornea can cause clouding, including ocular herpes simplex; trachoma, caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis; and onchocerciasis, or river blindness, caused by the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus. Chemical burns of the cornea and eye trauma can also cause corneal clouding.
Corneal dystrophies are a group of inherited disorders that cause slowly progressive corneal clouding. Symptoms most commonly begin in middle to late adulthood, although some corneal dystrophies present in childhood. The most common forms of corneal dystrophy include keratoconus, Fuchs' dystrophy, map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy and lattice dystrophy, reports the National Eye Institute.
