By Dr. Arun Kumar Gupta, Ophthalmology

The eyes are the organs of vision. Any complication suffered by your eyes even for a short period can cause extreme discomfort. It is essential to take proper care of your eyes. Your eyes need to be protected from harmful effects of the external environment like dust and UV rays. The eyes also need to be kept healthy by preventing infectious diseases and degeneration of the muscles.

A few of the most common eye problems and the possible complications can be listed as follows:

1. Cataract: It is a painless eye problem but it leads to progressive loss of vision that occurs over time. Complications include swelling, bleeding and fluid accumulation in the nerve layers. These cause even more distorted vision.

2. Conjunctivitis: It is an eye condition that causes infection and inflammation of the eyes giving it a pink appearance. Severe cases of conjunctivitis can cause scratches on the cornea and his can disturb and impair normal vision.

3. Dry-eye syndrome: It is a condition in which your eyes do not produce enough tears. This can lead to a number of eye infections. It can also damage and tear the cornea.

4. Glaucoma: It is a condition in which the optic nerve is damaged due to increased eye pressure. This can lead to complete loss of vision if it is not treated in time.

5. Photophobia: It is an eye condition in which light causes pain in the eyes. This condition can also cause severe harm to the cornea and the retina (the light sensitive tissue of the eye).

6. Watery eyes: Condition in which your eyes spill out excess water, even when you are not crying. It also increases the risk of infection in the eye.