Red eye is inflammation of the thin, clear covering of the white of the eye and the inside of the eyelids (conjunctiva). Anything that triggers inflammation will cause these conjunctival blood vessels to dilate. This is what causes red, bloodshot eyes. Red eye is frequently accompanied by eye pain, blurred vision, and sensivity to light. Often, eye pain that feels like something is in the eye actually is caused by irritation or inflammation of the front surface of the eye. Watery, burning, itchy eyes with sensitivity to light are the most common symptoms. There are many causes of red eye which must be investigated by an ophthalmologist.

Conjuntitivitis (pink eye) is inflammation of the thin, clear covering of the white of the eye and the inside of the eyelids (conjunctiva). The primary types of conjunctivitis, based on cause, are: viral (caused by a virus), bacterial (caused by bacteria) and allergic (caused by eye irritants such as pollen, dust and animal dander among susceptible individuals).  One or both eyes can be affected. Red, burning, itchy eyes are the most common symptoms. In same cases there is a sticky, yellow or greenish-yellow eye discharge in the corner of the eye, this discharge can be severe enough to cause the eyelids to be stuck together when you wake up. 

Blepharitis is a common eye condition characterized by chronic inflammation of the eyelid, usually where eyelashes grow, resulting in inflamed, irritated, itchy, and reddened eyelids. It can be caused by the oil glands at the base of the eyelashes becoming clogged, a bacterial infection, allergies or other conditions. Blepharitis usually does not cause permanent eyesight damage. Long-term untreated blepharitis can lead to eyelid scarring, excess tearing, difficulty wearing contact lenses, development of a stye (an infection near the base of the eyelashes, resulting in a painful lump on the edge of the eyelid) orchronic pink eye. 

Episcleritis is a benign, self-limiting inflammatory disease affecting part of the eye called the episclera. The episclera is a thin layer of tissue that lies between the conjuntiva and the connective tissue layer that forms the white of the eye (sclera). Episcleritis is a common condition, and is characterized by the abrupt onset of mild eye pain and redness. Most cases of episcleritis have no identifiable cause, although a small fraction of cases are associated with various systemic diseases. 

Scleritis is a serious, chronic, painful and potentially blinding inflammatory disease that affects the white outer coating of the eye, known as the sclera. The disease is often contracted through association with other systemic diseases of the body, usually an autoimmune disease. Scleral inflammation (scleritis) may occur in one or both eyes. Intense dull pain is a hallmark symptom.

A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil. A cataract starts out small and at first has little effect on your vision. You may notice that your vision is blurred a little, like looking through a cloudy piece of glass or viewing an impressionist painting. A cataract may make light from the sun or a lamp seem too bright or glaring. Or you may notice when you drive at night that the oncoming headlights cause more glare than before. Colors may not appear as bright as they once did. When symptoms begin to appear, you may be able to improve your vision for a while using new glasses,magnification, appropriate lighting or other visual aids.Think about surgery when your cataracts have progressed enough to seriously impair your vision and affect your daily life. 

Sometimes, people who have their vision successfully restored with cataract surgery experience a second decline in their eyesight several weeks or months after their cataract procedure. The crystalline lens of the eye is enclosed in a clear membrane called the lens capsule. A significant portion of the lens capsule that’s in front of the lens is removed during cataract surgery to enable the surgeon to gain access to the cloudy lens (the cataract), break it up, remove it, and replace it with a clear intraocular lens. The posterior portion of the lens capsule (the part behind the lens) is left intact during cataract surgery, and the new lens is implanted directly in front of it. In a small percentage of people who have cataract surgery, the posterior lens capsule becomes cloudy several months or even years after surgery. The medical term for this is posterior capsular opacification, secondary cataract or after-cataract. 

The retina is the tissue layer located in the back of your eye. This layer transforms light into nerve signals that are then sent to the brain for interpretation. When your blood pressure is too high, the retina’s blood vessel walls may thicken. This may cause your blood vessels to become narrow, which then restricts blood from reaching the retina. In some cases, the retina becomes swollen. Over time, high blood pressure can cause damage to the retina’s blood vessels, limit the retina’s function, and put pressure on the optic nerve, causing vision problems. This condition is called hypertensive retinopathy.  Most patients with hypertensive retinopathy have no symptoms. However, some may report decreased or blurred vision and headaches. 

Age-related macular degeneration — also called macular degeneration, AMD or ARMD — is deterioration of the macula, which is the small central area of the retina of the eye that controls visual acuity. The health of the macula determines our ability to read, recognize faces, drive, watch television, use a computer, and perform any other visual task that requires us to see fine detail. Macular degeneration is diagnosed as either dry or wet. Gradual central vision loss typically occurs. With wet macular degeneration, new blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak blood and fluid. This leakage causes permanent damage to light-sensitive retinal cells, which die off and create blind spots in central vision.

The macula is a very small spot in the center of the back of the eye (retina). Light focuses to a sharp point at the macula, which is the only area of the eye that sees crystal clear. When a macular hole develops, most people notice a sudden decrease in vision in one eye, the vision becomes blurry and distorted. Because macular holes often are related to aging processes, they are more likely to develop if you are over age 60. A macular hole sometimes can resolve without intervention, but most should be treated to prevent permanent vision loss.

Dry eye syndrome is a chronic and typically progressive condition. Dry eye is caused by a chronic lack of sufficient lubrication and moisture on the surface of the eye. Consequences of dry eyes range from subtle but constant eye irritation to significant inflammation and even scarring of the front surface of the eye.

Symptoms of dry eye syndrome include: burning, aching sensation, itchy, heavy, fatigued or sore eyes, red eyes, light sensitivity and blurred vision. Another common symptom is something called a foreign body sensation — the feeling that grit or some other object or material is “in” your eye. In addition to these symptoms, dry eyes can cause inflammation and (sometimes permanent) damage to the surface of the eye.

There are several different types of eyelid growths. Nevus and papilloma are the most common. Benign and malignant tumors can form on the eyelids. 

Accurate diagnosis by an ophthalmologist is based on history and clinical examination. When in doubt, any suspicious lesion should undergo biopsy. 

The majority of eyelid papillomas can be observed unless they rapidly grow, cause mechanical disruption of eyelid function or are cosmetically disfiguring, in which case they can be completely excised.

Watering eyes occur if too many tears are produced or if they cannot drain away properly. The problem can affect anyone, but it’s most common in young babies and people older than 60. It can cause blurred vision, sore eyelids and sticky eyes. The problems that can cause extra tears to be produced include: inflammation of the edges of the eyelids (blepharitis), the lower eyelid sagging away from the eye (ectropion) – this makes it difficult for tears to reach the drainage ducts, eyelids that roll inwards (entropion), blocked or narrowed tear ducts, eye irritation (for example, from chemical fumes or grit), an eye infection or allergy.