Hereditary Eye Diseases

Hereditary or Familial Eye Diseases

This subject is essential because the following eye diseases and problems are inherited.

Myopia

If both the parents are short-sighted to a high degree i.e., -4 to -6, all their children will be short-sighted and will wear glasses. But, if one person is short-sighted then the children mayor may not be short-sighted according to the Mendelian laws of inheritance.

Squint

If either one or both parents have a squint since childhood they are likely to give birth to children with squints. Their children must be taken for observation to a squint clinic at the age of six months or one year.

Hereditary squints are found in about 20 per cent of cases.

Night Blindness (Retinitis Pigmentosa)

The disease of night blindness is an unfortunate malady which is familial and affects children susceptible almost certainly, early or late in their lives. It has no specific treatment.

Color Blindness

Another type of vision that, is officially recorded is the vision Jar colors. Do you see primary colors and their mixtures normally or not? There is an ingenious and precise test called Schoharie color vision test which can detect normal or deficient color vision by looking at a set of color charts. There are other tests too, e.g. Railways’ lantern-test to test vision of the employees for color.

All these tests are used for clinical examinations by eye sp8cialists for the diagnosis of disease. But they are also used to detect color deficiencies by the Public Service Commission of the Government of India. Official employees who work for the following posts have to pass these tests prior to their employment.

1. Defiance services, i.e. army, navy, air force;
2. Public railways;
3. Police and paramilitary forces, home guards;
4. Public transport employees, e.g. bus drivers, taxi drivers, lorry and truck drivers;
5. Chemical industry and chemistry laboratory

technicians;

1. Software and computer technicians.

All officials working for the aforementioned are responsible for their own safety and that of members of the public. They undergo strict eye tests for color vision. Persons with normal cooler vision will read the numbers on the chart as printed. Persons with defective colour vision will read the numbers as different or may not read them.