All You Need To Know About Cataract

Thursday 19 September 2019

All You Need To Know About Cataract

Eyes are the most important organ of sense. But in spite of it being an organ that gives us the unmatched and unimaginable power of vision, we tend to neglect them. Many issues strike the organ and some of them stand to be very severe. One such severe issue faced by people is a Cataract makes the vision blurry. It’s common among older people but people of other age groups get affected by this disease too.

What can cause Cataracts?

Cataracts develop when there is a protein buildup in the lens of the eyes, preventing light to pass through the lens thus making the vision uncomfortably cloudy and blurry. Some people are even posed with the threat of losing their eyesight due to cataract. This depends on the overall health condition of the patient and the type of Cataract he is affected. Different types of Cataracts are caused due to several reasons as follow:

Age-related: A few cataracts are formed due to old age
Congenital. Babies can be born with cataracts and even can be affected by the condition in their childhoods. This is known as congenital cataract.
Secondary. If one is affected by medical conditions such as diabetes, he or she is more likely to get affected by secondary cataract. This can also be caused by being around ultraviolet light and toxic substances.
Traumatic. As the name suggests, traumatic cataracts are formed as a result of some accident.

Along with these, there are various other reasons for getting a cataract that include smoking and drinking.

Symptoms:

Cataracts take time to start affecting you and until it starts blocking light, it may not even come to your notice. But once it starts blocking the light you may notice a few symptoms as follow:

Foggy, cloudy and blurry vision
Colours may not seem the same.
Night blindness
One may have double vision
Specs and contact lenses may not work effectively

How are Cataracts diagnosed?

Once cataract is suspected, the eye doctor prescribes tests to check the condition of the eye and the vision. He dilates the pupil to parts of the eye, especially the lens.

Treatment of Cataract

Cataract can be cured by the use of corrected spectacles and contact lenses in a few cases. In other cases where these don’t work and cataracts have become major issues in one’s daily life, cataract surgeries can help.

Cataract Surgeries are done on an outpatient basis and it’s a quick and successful process. The surgery involves removing the original lens from the eye and replacing it with a man-made one.

Prevention is better than Cure

Cataract prevention is quite difficult as the reasons for cataract are very uncertain. Getting your eyes checked regularly, washing them with clean water and maintaining proper hygiene can reduce the risk of getting affected.