The perception of colors and colors of the world around us is perceived by us with the help of an amazing paired organ of our body - the eyes. It is the visual analyzer (eye) that is responsible for how clearly we perceive the world around us. And all would be fine, but what about the fact that visual impairment is very common. A large number of people suffer from certain problems associated with the eyes. In this case, the reflection of the surrounding information through the “mirror of the soul” becomes distorted, cloudy and even colorless - as a result, the perception of the environment is disturbed. What is going on? What mechanisms lie in the deterioration of vision and what is the danger of its progressive weakening?
The eye is an optical system that serves to concentrate, refract, and project images onto the retina. The action of almost all structural elements precisely as components of an optical system determines a peculiar dependence. That is, if any of the components (the lens, vitreous body, retinal cornea, and even the very size of the eye along the optical axis) is disturbed, visual impairment will be observed. Most often, visual impairment is caused by a malfunction of the visual analyzer - the eye. So, progressive myopia (or myopia) among the child population and farsightedness developing towards old age can be attributed to normal physiological processes associated with the lens’s ability to stretch and its elasticity. In eighty-ninety percent of cases, vision in children is impaired due to insufficient lens elasticity. Due to the early high load on the organ of vision, a certain lag in the elasticity of one of the structural elements of the eye, the lens, is revealed. The inability of the “young” lens to the necessary stretching disappears over the years, due to a change in the density of the latter. It is this change in density that subsequently leads to excessive stretching of the lens, which causes progression with years of farsightedness (hyperopia). This process proceeds differently in different people and at different speeds, which is why there is no way to name the exact age after which vision deterioration occurs. Today, ophthalmologists all over the world, with a patient with hyperopia over forty years old and having no pathology of the eye, "write off" hyperopia to the natural (physiological) aging of the organ of vision.
However, in addition to physiological (age-related) changes in the lens, visual impairment can also be caused by pathological changes in the structure of the eye, impaired integrity of nerve fibers that carry information from the visual analyzer, or damage (disturbances) to the brain tissue responsible for the perception and analysis of the organs coming from the organs of vision. information.
Many of these diseases are very dangerous and can lead not only to complete loss of vision, but also to a general deterioration in the state of human health, because often such changes are the initial manifestation of a systemic disease. That is why it is so important to consult a doctor on time if you notice that your eyesight has worsened. Timely diagnosis of pathology and treatment of the disease are often a guarantee of recovery.
Modern medicine distinguishes many diverse diseases of the organs of vision, among which the most widespread are cataracts and glaucoma. A rather common pathology is strabismus, which can be either congenital or acquired. Fortunately, almost all ophthalmic diseases are treatable. And with the development of new methods, approaches and techniques, such as laser vision correction and others, the list of fixable ophthalmological problems expands more and more.