Good eye health is a result of proper care, hygiene, and a healthy lifestyle. However, in certain cases, eye conditions and diseases can occur despite taking all precautionary measures. If immediate care is not taken to address the issue, it might result in the individual losing their eyesight permanently.

What causes an eye condition?
Several factors affect the eyes such as dust, infection, or allergens. Whereas some eye conditions can be rectified and the damages can be reversed, others, however, are irreversible and result in permanent damage. The most common factors which can affect the eye and lead to various issues are as follows.

• Age-related disorders
• Congenital conditions
• Poor hygiene and lifestyle
• Poor diet
• Exposure to UV rays
• Environmental toxins
• Smoking
• Alcohol
• Prolonged computer usage

3 of the main types of eye conditions
Given below are a few main types of eye conditions that can affect a person. Not all of these are age-related diseases and may affect a person at any time in their life.

Cataract
This leads to the lens of the eye being clouded and the vision becoming unclear. A cataract is usually an age-related illnesses that affects the eye, however, it can be caused by an injury to the eye as well. The condition can be easily cured via surgery, but neglecting it till it gets to an advanced stage can result in permanent loss of vision.

An individual affected with cataract may be tempted to procrastinate the surgery as it is a painless eye condition, however, prolonging the wait can harden the affected lenses and the surgical procedure for removal will be much more difficult.

The surgery involves removing the affected lens and replacing it with a prosthetic lens. It is generally carried out on one eye at a time and the patient needs to wait at least for a couple of weeks before the other eye is operated on, if need be. Some patients return to normal life within a week while others can take up to a month.

Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a condition when pressure is built within the eye, impairing the optic nerve that transmits the signals to the brain. It is one of the leading causes of blindness. In a healthier person, the pressure created by the aqueous humor of the eye is released by its mechanism, however, as age progresses, the system weakens and is no longer able to sustain itself. It can be a congenital condition, where a person is affected at birth. The damage due to glaucoma is a permanent one and cannot be reversed, but, treatment helps to reduce further damage.

To begin with, glaucoma is treated with eye drops and based on the severity of the case, surgery is recommended by the ophthalmologist. The procedure lasts for about 45 to 60 minutes and the patient can resume normal activities within a week. Although in some cases, it can take up to 6 weeks.

Strabismus
Crossed or lazy eyes is a condition where the eyes are not aligned properly and point in different directions while looking at an object. The condition can be classified into four different types

• Exotropia: Eye points outward
• Esotropia: Eye points inward
• Hypertropia: Eye points upward
• Hypotropia: Eye points downward

One of the main types of eye conditions, it is not entirely clear why strabismus occurs, however, it is understood that there might be anomalies in the nerves and muscles that are closer to the eyes. The condition is genetic in most cases, although some adults develop the condition at later stages as well. Contact lenses and eyeglasses are the most cost-effective treatment. Other treatment methods for this involves usage of prism lenses or providing vision therapy which involves exercises to the eye to help eye movement or surgery to rectify the disorder. Vision therapy is recommended post-surgery for exercising eye co-ordination, which trains the eyes and the brain.