All You Need to Know About Cataract

All You Need to Know About Cataract

Dec 01, 2020

The eyesight is an essential sense of organs and accounts for almost 80% of the perception. The eyes are delicate and need proper protection and care. By taking good care of your eyes you can reduce the chances of blindness and vision loss. Regular visits to the ophthalmologist and optometrist can help to evade eye diseases as cataract and glaucoma.

What is a Cataract?

The clouding of the otherwise clear lens of your eyes is a cataract. People with a cataract find it difficult to see, and it seems like looking through a fogged-window. Clouded vision can make it difficult to read, write, drive a car, or even see the person’s facial expressions in front.

Most cataracts develop slowly and do not affect the eyesight in the early stages. If left untreated, a cataract would interfere with your vision. If detected in the initial stages, eyeglasses and stronger lightning can deal with cataracts, but surgery would be the only solution if you have impaired vision due to a cataract.

The retina converts the light that enters through the lens and converts into signals for the rain to intercept and perceive. When the eyes’ proteins start forming clumps, the cloudy dense covering covers the lens and prevents sending clear images to the retina.

Symptoms of cataract

Cataracts are not painful and are not easily diagnosed in the initial stages. You need to get your eyesight checked at regular intervals. An aged person needs frequent checkups for timely detection of cataracts. The signs and symptoms of cataract include:

  • Blurred or dim vision
  • Sensitivity to glare and light
  • Seeing “halos” around light
  • Double vision
  • Increased difficulties with vision during night
  • Requiring brighter light for reading and writing
  • Frequent changes in prescription or power glasses
  • Fading colors or yellowing or colors while seeing
  • Not able to distinguish colors and seeing bright colors as dull.

These symptoms do not occur at once and are gradual in their appearance. Initially, the clouding of the lenses occurs in small parts, and they cover more aspects with time. Cataracts continue to grow, and vision becomes blurry when the clouding becomes larger.

Moreover, the otherwise clear eye turns brownish or yellowish. The world might seem like an old photograph, devoid of colors for a person with a cataract.

Types of Cataract

Let’s take a quick look at the different type of cataracts that can affect your eye.

1: Nuclear Cataract

When the cataract grows in the center of the lens, it is known as a nuclear cataract. When the cataract gets worse, your vision to read might get better, but it does not last long. Over time, the lens turns yellowish and hardens. You might have difficulties in viewing.

2: Cortical Cataract

When a cataract is formed on the lens’s outer sides, it is known as a cortical cataract. Initially, these cataracts start as white wedges and point towards your eyes as a triangle. When this cataract grows, they scatter light and affect vision.

3: Congenital Cataract

There is an innate cataract, and a baby born with a cataract is known as a congenital cataract. Illness of the mother during pregnancy or genetic disorder might lead to this cataract.

Treatment of Cataract

Although surgery is the better option to counter cataract, the ophthalmologist might prescribe strong eyeglasses, medicine, or magnifying lenses to counter the cataract. Surgery is recommended when a cataract engulfs the lens, and daily activities as reading, driving, or viewing become difficult.

Phacoemulsification is the latest cataract surgery method where ultrasound waves are used to emulsify the eye’s internal lens and remove the cataract. Extracapsular surgery is used to remove the accumulated protein from the lens through a long incision in the corona. Cataract removal through surgery is safe, and the success rate is high.

When to See a Doctor?

When you notice difficulties viewing during the night or observe a vision change, you can visit an ophthalmologist. To diagnose cataracts in Castle Rock, CO, you need to undergo a comprehensive eye examination. You may be administered with eye drops to dilate the pupil.

Founders Eyecare can give you bilingual staff and service-oriented eye treatment. With over fifty-five years of experience and incorporation of advanced technologies, detection of cataracts is easy. We accept most of the significant insurances and strive to make quality eye care accessible to all. You can book an appointment to treat cataracts through phacoemulsification surgery.

303-688-3636 Book Appointment
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