Consultant - Ophthalmologist
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Ophthalmology
Overview
Eyes are one of the most crucial parts of the human body, without the eyes being healthy, you won’t be able to perform day to day tasks or get to experience life to its fullest and that’s why there’s a specialty in medicine that deals with every issue related to the vision or eyes, Called “ophthalmology”
Ophthalmology is a branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and management of eye disorders. The physician or doctor specializing in ophthalmology is called an “ophthalmologist”
Difference between opticians, optometrists, and ophthalmologists
Very often, people get confused between opticians, optometrists, and ophthalmologists because these three professions are specialists in eye care and have overlapping job descriptions, but there’s a significant difference between the three.
- Opticians are eye care professionals who can help choose frames for the glasses and provide information about lenses and lens coating but they cannot give any exams or write any prescriptions, nor can they diagnose or treat any eye problems.
- Optometrists are not medical doctors or surgeons but they can diagnose and treat certain eye problems and provide prescription medications, they can also prescribe glasses or contact lenses.
- Ophthalmologists are medical doctors that specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of the eye or vision-related conditions and disorders. By prescribing medications, prescribing glasses or contact lenses, doing surgeries, and after-care. They can also inform and advise on how to improve or maintain your eyes.
Here are a few specific conditions an ophthalmologist can treat:
- Glaucoma: a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, the health of which is very vital for stable vision. This damage is often caused by abnormally high pressure in the eye.
- Retinal conditions: disorders or conditions affecting the retina of the eyes such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
- Corneal conditions: The cornea is the eye’s clear, protective outer layer. That is responsible for being the barrier against heat, moisture, and dirt, there are conditions that can cause damage to the cornea such as Bullous keratopathy, Cogan syndrome, Corneal ulcer, Herpes simplex keratitis.
- Cataracts: this condition is basically the clouding of the lens of the eye, which is normally clear. Most cataracts slowly develop over time, causing symptoms such as blurry, hazy, and less colourful vision.
- Amblyopia (lazy eye): this is a condition that occurs in children where one eye does not develop the same as the other, it is most often caused by near-sightedness or strabismus.
There are hundreds of more conditions an ophthalmologist can help including, including Dry eye, Macular degeneration (AMD), Refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness ), Retinal detachment, retinopathy, and much more.
When to see an ophthalmologist?
If you’re experiencing chronic or severe vision problems such as:
- Excessive tearing
- Bleeding from eyes
- Pain or discomfort
- Seeing flashes of light
- Dark spot in vision
- Blurry, distorted or double vision
- Eyelid abnormalities
- Sudden vision loss, even if the eyesight returns to normal
- An eye injury or infection
- Redness of eyes
You might have to immediately go to an emergency room in case any of the following symptoms:
- Sudden vision loss or changes
- Severe and sudden eye pain
- Eye injury
Regardless, of the reasons given above experts suggest that you should get your eyes regularly checked up so that in case of a major condition, it can be treated early.
