8 Eye issues you can’t afford to ignore

Monitoring eye health is useful as many diseases involve visual conditions as a primary symptom. An article in NaturalBlaze.com walks you through eight warning signs of disorders that can be seen in or around the eyes.

1. Persistent stye — Styes are localized inflammations located in one of several sebaceous glands in the eye lids. Simply put, styes are small boils or abscesses that may affect small, oily portions of the upper or lower eyelids. This condition is commonly caused by a bacterial infection. While often dismissed as a non-threatening infection, styes that occur in the same location in the eyelids may actually be an indicator of a rare form of cancer called sebaceous gland carcinoma. Experts also caution that these lethal malignancies may disguise themselves as otherwise benign styes. Erroneous or delayed diagnosis is common for the condition.
2. Blurred vision — Blurry vision may serve as an indicator of computer vision syndrome. This condition may also be associated with refractive errors or more serious conditions such as sigh-threatening illnesses of neurological diseases. This may also mean the onset of cataract if the vision is more cloudy than blurry.
3. Jaundice — Jaundice is more common in infants. This is characterized by the yellowing of the white sclera, or the whites of the eyes. This discoloration may indicate serious disorders that concern the liver such as hepatocellular jaundice. Jaundice may also be a warning sign of increased red blood cell breakdown. This could also mean a blockage in the bile duct system. Jaundice may also be an indicator of acute live infection, malaria, and hemolytic anemia. Jaundice could also be a warning sign for pancreatitis and  some forms of cancer.
4. Eye bulge — A bulging sensation in the eyes could be a red flag for hyperthyroidism.
5. Thinning eyebrows — Thinning eyebrows, especially in the outer edges, are usually associated with a potentially dangerous thyroid condition called hypothyroidism.
6. Blind spots — These spots are not something to take lightly. Blind spots may serve as indicators of migraine auras. Blind spots may also be an indicator of chronic headaches.
7. Diabetic blurred vision — This is a serious red flag, especially for patients with diabetes. Blurred vision might be a sign of an even debilitating condition called diabetic retinopathy. The disease is touted as the leading cause of blindness among American adults.
8. Vision loss, dim vision, double vision — These conditions can be alarming signs of stroke onset.

The human body proves to be an efficient symptoms monitoring system as certain diseases manifest themselves over various parts of the body. The eyes in particular, have been long established as good indicators of certain disorders. In fact, a type of alternative medicine called iridology, examines a patient’s irises to determine the presence of disease, infections, and various other ailments. The practice originated in 1670’s, but the advent of modern iridology began in the 1980’s when the International Iridology Practitioners Association was founded.

Sources include:

NaturalBlaze.com

HealthCentral.com

MedicalNewsToday.com

AllAboutVision.com