Medical conditions

The eyelids are essential for keeping the eye moist and lubricated. They contain large oil glands (meibomian glands) which produce oil. Oil mixed with aqueous tears form a stable protective tear film over the eye. A tear duct drains excess tears from both lids to the back of the nose. The upper lid may droop…

The wall of the eye is a tough white layer known as the Sclera. The conjunctiva is a very thin loose clear layer covering the sclera and inside of the eyelids.  The conjunctiva can become red and sore if the eyes are dry, inflamed (sclerits and episcleritis) or infected (conjunctivitis). Dry or Watery Eye Conjunctivitis…

The cornea is the clear window of the surface of the eye. It is key to the focus of the eye. The shape of this contributes towards long and short sightedness and astigmatism. This refractive error can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or refractive laser (LASIK & LASEK) to the cornea. It is the…

This is the fluid filled front chamber of the eye. The fluid, known as aqueous, is produced behind the iris (by the ciliary body), flows through the pupil, and drains out near the root of the iris (trabecular mesh or angle). Problems with drainage of fluid from the eye causes the pressure in the eye…

Just as you have a lens in your glasses to focus there is a lens in the eye to focus. When you are young this changes shape to bring things into focus. As you age it stops changing shape and reading glasses are subsequently required (presbyopia). Problems occur when the lens loses its clarity and…

This is the clear gel that fills the back of the eye. When you are born it completely fills this space and is attached to the photographic lining of the eye known as the retina. As you age the gel dissolves and shrinks. Problems with the gel are related to the accumulation of debris within…

This is the thin delicate photographic film of the eye that covers the inside of the eye. It provides both peripheral vision and central detailed vision. The finest vision is achieved at the very centre of the retina, known as the macula. Problems with the retina present with distortion, blur or shadows. Torn or detached…

This connects the eye to the brain. It has over 1 million nerve fibres in each optic nerve. Problems with the nerve cause loss of fine vision, colour vision, and field of vision. The nerve may be damaged by eye pressure (glaucoma), inflammation and swelling (optic neuropathy & papillitis), tumours or raised brain pressure (papilloedema)….

Blepharitis is incredibly common. In fact it is the commonest cause of red gritty eyes. What is Blepharitis? Blepharitis is a condition where the eye does not get enough moisturising oil and the eye becomes red and gritty. Many people do not realise that the eye requires both water and oil to keep comfortable. Without…

Chalazion There are many types of lid lumps and bumps. A common lid lump is a chalazion or Stye. This is caused by a blocked meibomian gland in either the upper or lower eyelid. Any cause of inflammation can block the meibomian orifice such as injury, hayfever, allergic eye disease, blepharitis, etc. If the gland…

It goes without saying that the eyelids are important cosmetically. However, their principal role is to protect and moisten the surface of the eye. A number of conditions can affect the height and symmetry of the eyelids. The most common cause of many of these changes is aging. However, it is important to rule out…

The surface of the eye is a clear window known as the cornea. The clarity of vision through this clear window is highly dependent on the health of the tear film and eye lids. The tear film is made up of 3 layers, a protein (mucin) layer, a watery (aqueous) layer and an outer oil…

The white of the eye is covered by a mobile clear film known as the conjunctiva. This can be red and inflamed for a number of reasons. The commonest causes are blepharitis [link] and dry eyes. Infective causes of conjunctivitis also occur, but much less commonly. Infections are usually due to either viruses or bacteria….

The wall of the eyeball is a tough fibrous coat known as the sclera. It appears white to look at. Covering the sclera are two transparent layers; loose episcleral tissue (tenons) and a shiny outer coating known as the conjunctiva. This multi-layer covering of the eye needs to be examined carefully to determine which layer…

The white of the eye is covered by a transparent loose skin known as conjunctiva. Just as skin of the hands and feet can become thickened with use over the years, so can the conjunctiva. Thickening of the conjunctiva is more common in hot and dry environments, or in patients with dry eyes. A pterygium…

The need for glasses is very common. This is known as refractive error. There are 4 common conditions that people require glasses for: Long-sightedness – This is when distance objects are in focus more clearly than near.Short-sightedness – This is when near objects are in focus more than distance.Astigmatism – This is when the eye…

The surface of the eye is the most sensitive surface of the body. Any soreness or scratch to the surface can be very painful. Even minor scratches are often so painful that grown men cannot open their eye without anaesthetic drops. Fortunately, minor scratches heal within days, and leave no discernable scar. A scratch to…

The front surface of the eye is a clear window known as the cornea. It is 0.5mm thick in the centre and 1mm thick at the periphery. Behind the cornea sits the iris and pupil. Infections of the cornea are known as corneal ulcers or ulcerative keratitis. They can be caused by viruses, bacteria or…

The front surface of the eye is a clear window known as the cornea. It is 0.5mm thick in the centre and 1mm thick at the periphery. It is a 3 layer structure. On the front surface it has a thin epithelium, in the middle it has a thick stroma, and on the back /…

The eye is lined by a thin layer of black pigmentation which absorbs stray light. This layer forms the back of the iris and is a continuous sheet that extends from the back of the iris, covers the ciliary body, and wall of the eye behind the retina (choroid). This layer is called the uvea….

The eye is a fluid filled structure. Just like a football or tyre, it can be under filled and soft, or over filled and hard. The fluid that fills the eye is known as aqueous fluid. This is made at the back of the eye by the ciliary body. This aqueous fluid circulates through the…

There are a number of different types of glaucoma. The commonest type of glaucoma is ‘chronic’ or ‘primary’ glaucoma. This is damage to the nerve of the eye that can be reduced by lowering the pressure within the eye. A less common type is ‘acute’ or ‘angle closure glaucoma’. This is a sudden massive elevation…

Acute glaucoma is much better understood than chronic glaucoma. It is a mechanical blockage of fluid trying to exit the eye. It occurs suddenly, and within hours causes the eye pressure to raise so much that the eye becomes red, painful and blurred. If the eye pressure is not treated the same day, the sight…

The pupil is the central opening of the iris that allows light into the eye. The size of the pupil is determined by two muscle systems in the iris. One is a circumferential muscle called the ‘sphincter pupillae’. When it constricts it makes the pupil smaller. The other is a radial muscle, called the ‘dilator…

Cataract Patient Information Animations

What are cataracts? Just as there is a lens in glasses to focus, there is a lens inside the eye to focus. When you are born this lens is clear and elastic, and changes shape to bring images into sharp focus onto the retina (photographic film of the eye). As you age, the natural lens…

Overview Just as you have a lens in glasses to focus, there is also a lens inside the eye to focus. This lens is held in position by a thin capsule. When the lens becomes cloudy it is known as a cataract. At the time of cataract surgery a hole is made in the front…

The eye is principally divided into two separate compartments, the front or ‘anterior chamber’ which is filled with aqueous fluid, and the back or ‘posterior chamber’ which is filled with vitreous gel. When you are born this vitreous gel fills the whole posterior chamber of the eye and is glued to the lining of the…

The vitreous gel is usually clear, apart from occasional transparent floaters. Blood is not transparent, so if bleeding occurs into the vitreous then the vitreous gel loses some of its transparency, resulting in dense ‘floaters’ or loss of vision. A vitreous haemorrhage obscuring the view of the retina. A vitreous haemorrhage can occur for many…

The eye is principally divided into two separate compartments, the front or ‘anterior chamber’ which is filled with aqueous fluid, and the back or ‘posterior chamber’ which is filled with vitreous gel. When you are born this vitreous gel fills the whole posterior chamber of the eye and is glued to the lining of the…

The photographic film of the eye is known as the retina. The macula is the very central retina, where all light is focused. It is responsible for the sharpest vision, especially reading vision. As we age debris collects underneath the retina and macula, known as drusen. These drusen are harmless age-related yellow deposits that start…

Diabetes is the commonest cause of blindness in Europe in the under 65yr age group. Diabetes damages the fine blood vessels within the retina, or photographic film of the eye. The early stages of retinopathy has no symptoms. By the time a patient may be aware of blurring irreversible damage to the retina has already…

The retina is a thin sheet of photographic film that lines the inside of the eye. The cavity of the eye is filled with a transparent gel, known as the vitreous. When we are born this vitreous gel is adherent to the retina and fills the whole cavity of the eye. As we age the…

The retina is the photographic film of the eye. It is covered in arteries carrying blood to the eye, and veins carrying blood away from the eye. There is one main central artery and vein, and multiple smaller arteries and veins coming from this central trunk. If one of these veins become blocked, then the…

The optic nerve is the connection between the eye and the brain. It is responsible for transmitting the visual signal from the eye to the visual centres of the brain. Each optic nerve carries approximately 1 million nerve fibres. Damage to the optic nerve can come from a number of sources, inflammation, a blocked artery,…

The natural lens of the eye is contained within an elastic ‘capsular bag’. This bag is suspended within the eye by a series of ‘guy ropes’ around the outside of the lens called zonules. This is rather like a trampoline being suspended by springs all around its edge, holding the trampoline taut and central. In…