Eye Diseases

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Images

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Older Adults
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Some eye problems are minor and don't last long. But some can lead to a permanent loss of vision.

Common eye problems include:

• Refractive errors
• Cataracts - clouded lenses
• Optic nerve disorders, including glaucoma
• Retinal disorders - problems with the nerve layer at the back of the eye
• Macular degeneration - a disease that destroys sharp, central vision
• Diabetic eye problems
• Conjunctivitis - an infection also known as pink eye

Your best defense is to have regular checkups, because eye diseases do not always have symptoms. Early detection and treatment could prevent vision loss. See an eye care professional right away if you have a sudden change in vision, if everything looks dim, or if you see flashes of light. Other symptoms that need quick attention are pain, double vision, fluid coming from the eye, and inflammation.

NIH: National Eye Institute

Start Here

• About Common Eye Disorders and Diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Symptoms

• Eye Symptoms (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Eye Exam and Vision Testing Basics (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
• Eye Problems: Symptom Checker Flowchart (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Get a Dilated Eye Exam (National Eye Institute) Also in Spanish
• Get an Eye Disease Screening at 40 (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
• Getting Professional Eye Care (Prevent Blindness America)
• Vision Screening (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• What Are Dilating Eye Drops? (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Foods for Eye Health (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
• Four Fantastic Foods to Keep Your Eyes Healthy (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Enucleation (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• How to Use Eye Drops (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists)
• How to Use Eye Ointments and Gels (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists)

Living With

• Diet and Nutrition (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Abnormal Head Position (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Floaters (Prevent Blindness America)
• Headaches in Children (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• How Do Smoking and Vaping Damage the Eyes? (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
• Inflammation of the Orbit (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Neurofibromatosis (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Ocular Hypertension (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
• Red Eye (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• What Is an Ocular Migraine? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• What's Your Risk of Eye Damage from UV Light? (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Aniridia (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Choroideremia (Foundation Fighting Blindness)
• Facts about Coloboma (National Eye Institute)
• Holmes-Adie Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Iritis (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Kearns-Sayre Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Leukocoria (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Subconjunctival Hemorrhage (Broken Blood Vessel in Eye) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Toxoplasmosis (and the Eye) (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Uveitis (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
• What Is a Pinguecula and a Pterygium (Surfer's Eye)? (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• About WAGR Syndrome (National Human Genome Research Institute)
• Aniridia: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Autosomal dominant vitreoretinochoroidopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Blau syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Bosma arhinia microphthalmia syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Coloboma: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Congenital stromal corneal dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Fraser syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetic Testing and Eye Disease (American Academy of Ophthalmology)
• Gillespie syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Gyrate atrophy of the choroid and retina: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Isolated ectopia lentis: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Kearns-Sayre syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Lattice corneal dystrophy type I: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Lowe syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Microphthalmia with linear skin defects syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Microphthalmia: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Norrie disease: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Oculocutaneous albinism: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Oculofaciocardiodental syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• RAB18 deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• WAGR syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Weill-Marchesani syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Images

• Eye Disease Simulations (National Eye Institute)
• Flashes and Floaters (VisualDX)

Statistics and Research

• Eye Health Data and Statistics (National Eye Institute) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Eye Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Decoding physiological and pathological roles of innate immune cells in eye...
• Article: Performance of ChatGPT in Ophthalmic Registration and Clinical Diagnosis: Cross-Sectional Study.
• Article: TraceEyeDisease: a web-based database for investigating trace elements and their imbalances...
• Eye Diseases -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• How the Eyes Work (National Eye Institute) Also in Spanish
• NEI for Kids: Glossary (National Eye Institute)

Find an Expert

• American Foundation for the Blind
• Find an Ophthalmologist (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
• Finding an Eye Doctor (National Eye Institute)
• National Eye Institute

Children

• About the Eye (National Eye Institute)
• Anisocoria and Horner's Syndrome (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Anophthalmia and Microphthalmia (National Eye Institute)
• Excessive Blinking in Children (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Persistent Fetal Vasculature (PFV) (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Photoscreening (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
• Subconjunctival Hemorrhage (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Warning Signs of Vision Problems in Infants and Children (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Your Eyes (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Taking Care of Your Vision (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Older Adults

• The Aging Eye (National Eye Institute) - PDF

Patient Handouts

• Anisocoria (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Choroidal dystrophies (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Coloboma of the iris (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Episcleritis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Eye and orbit ultrasound (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Eye burning - itching and discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Eye pain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Eye redness (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Fluorescein angiography (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Fluorescein eye stain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Heterochromia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ophthalmoscopy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Orbit CT scan (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Orbital pseudotumor (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Photophobia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pinguecula (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pterygium (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pupil - white spots (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Scleritis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Slit-lamp exam (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Standard eye exam (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Subconjunctival hemorrhage (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Uveitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish