Eye Cataract Health Information

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A cataract is a clouded area that forms within the normally clear lens of the eye. Cataracts block the passage of light into the eye, resulting in blurred vision. The lens is mostly made of water and protein. The protein is arranged in a precise way that keeps the lens clear and lets light pass through it. As people age, some of the protein may clump together and start to cloud a small area of the lens. Over time cataracts may grow larger and cloud more of the lens, making it harder to see.

There are three types of cataracts:

1. A nuclear cataract is most commonly seen as it forms. This cataract forms in the nucleus, the center of the lens, and is due to natural aging changes.

2. A cortical cataract, which forms in the lens cortex, gradually extends its spokes from the outside of the lens to the center. Many diabetics develop cortical cataracts.

3. A subcapsular cataract begins at the back of the lens. People with diabetes, high farsightedness, retinitis pigmentosa or those taking high doses of steroids may develop a subcapsular cataract.

Causes of Eye Cataract:

It is not for sure known how cataracts are caused. All medical scientists can confirm is that there is a change in the chemical composition of the eye that corresponds with cataract formation. Most of the time this chemical change occurs due to the aging process. Besides aging, cataracts can also appear after eye injuries, the use of certain medications, smoking, ultraviolet light exposure, infections, and diseases such as diabetes.

Symptoms of Eye Cataract:

Some symptoms associated with cataracts include:
  • Blurring of Vision - Cataract leads to a painless, progressive blurring or dimming of vision. The things may seem blurred around the edges, or your glass may seem dirty or scratched. The opacity affecting the central part of the lens may cause poor vision in bright light.
  • Frequent change of glasses - Some forms of cataract lead to a change in refractive power of your lens and thus cause frequent changes in power of your glasses.
  • Glare or halos around lights - Cataract may also lead to sensitivity to light and glare, especially in bright sunlight or while driving at night.
  • Double Images - The cloudiness in the lens may occur in more than one place, so that the light rays that reach the retina are split, causing a double image.
  • Change in color vision - Cataract may also cause change in color vision. As the cataract develops its center becomes more and more yellow, giving everything you see a yellowish tinge.
  • Difficulty reading
  • A white or "milky" spot over the pupil of the eye

Cures / Preventions for Eye Cataract:

The only cure or actual way to remove a cataract is to undergo surgery. This surgery is one of the most common and most successful surgeries that can be done with a greater than 90 percent success rate.

Treatment for Eye Cataract:

When symptoms begin to appear, you may be able to improve your vision for a while using new glasses, strong bifocals, magnification, appropriate lighting or other visual aids. When your cataracts have progressed enough to seriously impair your vision and affect your daily life, you may start to think about surgery. Cataract surgery is very successful in restoring vision. It is the most frequently performed surgery in the United States, with over 1.5 million cataract surgeries done each year.

The surgery is done by the surgeon removing 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. People with otherwise healthy eyes will usually enjoy improved vision following cataract removal.

After the surgeryu you may experience some minor discomfort as you do with any surgery.

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