Vision problems can be of many different types. There is the usual blurriness of vision and then there are halos, floaters, blind spots, etc. Vision becomes blurred when the eye loses its power to focus on small details in objects due to various reasons. Blind spots are ‘holes' in the field of vision where one cannot see anything, these are also known as scotomas.

Any such problem of the eye, be it blind spots, dimness of vision, blurred vision, should always be diagnosed and checked by a certified medical practitioner. These problems may only be symptoms of underlying diseases that may affect more than just your eyes. Examples would include diabetes, which have symptoms in the eyes but have far more consequences on the rest of your body.

No matter what the problem is, you should not ignore them. Any problem with the eye should be promptly evaluated by an eye care professional. There are different professionals who provide different services related to your eyes. Here's a list of those people and what they can do for you: -

• Ophthalmologists – They are doctors who are trained to diagnose diseases and problems in your eye. They will also provide routine eye check up services and prescribe glasses and contact lenses.

• Optometrists – They mainly check the eye for prescribing glasses but they may also diagnose eye problems. They will sometimes prescribe eye drops for treating a certain problem.

• Opticians – They are mainly responsible for making eyeglasses according to prescriptions provided by you. They are not trained to diagnose problems.
• In some cases, when the problem also involves the rest of your body, your general physician would need to be involved.

There are many things that can cause eye problems. These would include fatigue of the eyes and overexposure while staying outdoors, which causes temporary and reversible blindness and many other things.

The following medications may cause blindness - antihistamines, digitalis derivatives (temporary), indomethacin, phenothiazines (like Compazine for nausea, Thorazine and Stelazine for schizophrenia) anticholinergics, some high blood pressure pills (guanethidine, reserpine, and thiazide diuretics), ethambutol (for tuberculosis), and medications for malaria, etc.

Vitamin deficiencies are also known to cause vision problems. Vitamins are essential minerals that are required by your body to function properly and if your body lacks these, you are likely to face problems. Usually, Vitamin A deficiency will cause problems with your vision and proper intake of this vitamin will make your eyes stronger and sharper.

Also remember that if you continue doing things that hurt your eyes, it will further create problems with your eyes. These include watching TV from a too close a distance, working on a computer for too long, trying to read or sew under a bad light, etc. Anything that strains your eyes regularly will result in damage to your eyes. You can feel it happening when your eyes start going red and when they hurt and start watering. This is when you should start taking measures to prevent them from happening.

If you can rest your eyes properly and not strain them unnecessarily, most of your common eye problems are likely to decrease or disappear altogether.