Cataract

A cataract results when the normally transparent lens of the eye clouds, blurring vision. Most cataracts are age-related, advancing slowly and progressively until functional blindness occurs.

Cataract can be successfully treated through a surgical procedure that removes the damaged, natural eye lens and replaces it with a permanent, intra-ocular lens implant. The procedure has over a 90 percent success rate. After refractive errors, cataract is the most common vision disorder.

Classification

• Subcapsular cataract(occurs at the back of the lens)
• Nuclear cataract(forms deep in the nucleus of the lens)
• Cortical cataract(occurs in the lens cortex)

CAUSES

1. Aging
2. Diabetes
3. Eye inflammation
4. Eye injury
5. Family history of cataracts
6. High farsightedness
7. Long-term use of corticosteroids (taken by mouth)
8. Radiation exposure
9. Smoking
10. Surgery for another eye problem
11. Too much exposure to ultraviolet light(sunlight)

Symptoms And Signs

• Adult cataracts develop slowly and painlessly.
• Vision in the affected eye or eyes slowly gets worse.
• Mild clouding of the lens often occurs after age 60, but it may not cause any vision problems.
• By age 75, most people have cataracts that affect their vision.
• Being sensitive to glare
• Cloudy, fuzzy, foggy, or filmy vision
• Difficulty seeing at night or in dim light
• white, wedge-like opacities
• Double vision
• Loss of color intensity
• Problems seeing shapes against a background or the difference between shades of colors
• Seeing halos around lights
• Decreased vision, even in daylight
• Frequent changes in eyeglass prescription

Investigations

1. Standard eye examination
2. Slit-lamp examination

Treatment

Surgery—

The main treatment for a cataract is surgery to remove it.
        If a cataract is not bothersome, surgery is usually not necessary

Self-Care—

1. Better eyeglasses
2. Better lighting
3. Magnifying lenses
4. Sunglasses
5. Changes around the home (to avoid falls and injuries.)

Complications

1. Permanent vision problems.
2. Hyper-mature cataract

Prevention

1. Control cataract causing diseases
2. Avoid exposure to causative factors
3. Wear sunglasses outside during the day(to filter out UV rays)
4. Stop smoking