Description

Cataracts

Cataract is a clouding of the normally clear lens of your eye which causes a clouded, blurred or dim
vision making it more difficult to read, drive a car or see the expression on a
friend’s face. As opposed to general belief, someone from any age group can
have cataract though it is more common among people over age 40. Mostly
cataract develops slowly without disturbing your eyesight early on. But with
time, cataracts will eventually interfere with your vision.At beginning ,
stronger lighting and new eyeglasses can help you deal with cataracts. But if
impaired vision affects your usual activities, you might need cataract surgery.
Cataract surgery is generally a safe, effective procedure.

Causes

Cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in people over age 50 and the principal cause of
blindness in the World. Aging and travma are
the main factors in the development of this disease for the tissue that makes
up your eye’s lenses changes. The lens, where the cataracts form, is positioned
behind the colored part of your eye(iris) and focuses light that passes into
your eye,producing clear sharp images on the retina-the light sensitive
membrane in the eye that functions like the film in a camera. As you age, the
lenses in your eyes become less flexible, less transparent and thicker.

Age-related and other medical conditions-some inherited
genetic disorders,past eye surgery,diabetes,long term use of steroid
medications- might end with your complaint about seeing ‘halos’ around light.
Also it is better to bear in mind that new born infants besides people with
advancing age may have it.

Symptoms

Cataracts usually form slowly. Until they start to block light, you may not know you have them. Then
you might notice these following conditions: hazy, blurred vision like looking
through a cloudy piece of glass is a result of cataract as eye’s lens changes.
Increasing difficulty with vision at night,need brighter light for reading,
fading of colors are the most common symptoms.

What is the treatment?

When your cataracts have progressed enough to seriously impair your vision and affect your daily life it
is high time to go under surgery. Do not fret over the idea of surgery since
cataract surgery is simple, relatively painless procedure to regain vision when
performed by an experienced and professional eye speacialist. Many people
consider poor vision an inevitable fact of aging but cataract surgery is very
succesful in restoring vision.  During surgery, the surgeon
will remove your clouded lens and in most cases replace it with a clear,
plastic intraocular lens (IOL). New IOLs are being developed all the time to
make the surgery less complicated for surgeons and the lenses more helpful to
patients. The surgery takes almost ten minutes under local anesthesia after
which the patient immediately goes back to his everyday normal life.