Cataract
Will Cataract Surgery Help?
According to a medical report, there are more than 60 million
individuals around the world have cataract. Cataract is the
major cause of blindness but luckily, cataract is highly treatable
with cataract surgery.
What is Cataract?
Gradually the eye's lens, which is transparent in a healthy
eye, begins to become cloudy or opaque. As a person starts
to age, protein levels in the eye start to decrease which
is the reason why there is no way to successfully prevent
cataract from developing. Other factors might also cause cataract
such as head injury and certain diseases, but their appearance
is primarily due to age.
Generally there are 3 different types of cataracts and each
type will affect a different part of the eye. At the center
of the lens is the nucleus and the most common of the cataracts
affects this region. Cortical cataract and subcapsular cataract
are more frequent in individuals who have diabetes.
Symptoms of Cataract
Vision which is cloudy or blurred is usually the most significant
symptom of a cataract. Nearsightedness can increase and images
which were once clear to you might now appear distorted when
cataract is present. The other less obvious symptoms include
the need for more and brighter light when reading, sensitivity
to light, trouble seeing at night, double vision and colors
that fade or seem 'yellow'. These symptoms develop due to
the cloudiness on the lens prevents it from refracting light
properly.
Everyone is basically exposed to the risk of developing cataract
and the likelihood that this type of eye problem will develop
increases with each passing year. Or simply, anyone fortunate
to reach old age are likely develop cataract.
However, risks will increase increase if there is a family
history of cataract. Steroids and some medications can also
increase the chances of developing cataract as can eye injury
or previous eye surgery. Those with diabetes also have an
increased risk.
Cataract Treatment
A routine eye examination is the best way to detect the presence
or development of cataract. Due to the fact that blurred vision
can be caused by a number of factors, proper diagnosis is
important.
Those were the days when a cataract patient in one or both
eyes would have to endure painful surgery to remedy the situation.
Fortunately today, cataract surgery is an outpatient procedure
that involves replacing the cloudy lens with an intraocular
lens (IOL). The success rate of cataract surgery is extremely
high. And surgery is the currently the only option.
Cataract surgery is usually not recommended until the loss
of vision becomes worrying and affects quality of life. Cataract
usually develops gradually so in many cases, vision in the
early stages could be corrected with prescription eyeglasses.
An ophthalmologist can determine the stage at which cataract
surgery is needed.
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