We may often think that only older people get cataracts. But
did you know that if there is someone in your family with cataracts, you are at
a higher risk for them yourself? June is a National Health Observance Month for
cataracts so the public can be educated on this leading cause of vision loss,
along with the symptoms, types, and surgery.
Did you know that cataracts are the world’s leading cause of
blindness in approximately forty-two percent of all cases? That was surprising
to hear. Here in the United States, there are more than twenty-five million
people that are estimated to have cataracts.
What is a cataract?
It is a clouding of the lens of the eye. The lens blocks or
changes as light passes through the eye and is normally transparent. It is
located behind the pupil and the colored iris. Having a cataract stops light
from passing to the retina so vision may be blurry or dim.
Symptoms:
- Light seems to be too dim to read or do close-up work
- Bright lights cause the loss of clear vision
- Hard to drive especially at night
- May see halos around lights
- Colors may not seem as bright
- Blurry vision, double, vision, feeling like a film is over the eyes
- Seeing a yellowish or milky spot in your pupil
Risk factors:
- Older age
- Hereditary
- Intense heat, radiation, exposure to UV sun rays
- Eye inflammation
- Diabetes, arthritis, metabolic disorders
- Eye injuries
- Eye infections
- Certain medicines such as long-term steroid use or cancer medication
- Infection during pregnancy with measles or rubella
- Smoking
If you have any of the symptoms along with the risk factors listed
above, see your eye care professional who will be able to diagnose a cataract
during a dilated eye exam. You and your doctor can discuss what treatment would
work best for you at this time. Surgery doesn’t always have to be done early on.
Sometimes brighter lights at home, anti-glare sunglasses, or new glasses or
contacts can help. If cataracts progress, then surgery becomes the option.
Cataract surgery is an elective procedure done with lasers.
Providers recommend to patients to have it done when the cataract causes enough
vision loss to interfere with their daily lives. The clouded lens is removed
and replaced with an artificial lens implant. It is an outpatient procedure.
Oftentimes, patients can resume their normal activities in a few days with
vision continuing to improve in the weeks and months ahead.
It is nice to know that cataracts are easily treatable. In
this Cataract Awareness Month, it is important to stay informed about one of
the leading causes of vision loss in our country.
http://preventblindness.org/cataract/
https://preventblindness.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MK08-Cataract-Facts-1.pdf
