Causes and Symptoms of Cataracts You Need To Know

People with cataract can’t see correctly, and it appears to them as if they are looking through a fogged-up window. It also makes it difficult for them to do routine tasks like reading, writing, driving, etc.

A cataract does not usually affect your eyesight immediately. However, with time it starts affecting your vision.Stronger lighting and eyeglasses can help deal with this situation in the initial stages, but if it interferes with your normal activities. In that case, cataract surgery becomes crucial.

Is Cataract Surgery Safe?

Yes, it is a very safe and effective procedure that will help you to get back your normal life. If you experience any sudden changes like double vision, flashes of light, sudden pain in the eye, or headache, you must call your doctor immediately.

Remember, cataract mostly affects people above age 40 and is the most common reason for blindness. Various types of tests are available to test cataracts like visual acuity tests, slit-lamp examination, and retinal examination.

Causes of Cataracts

The lenses of our eyes help us to see clearly. They are made of water and protein, which is in a precise amount to keeps the lens clear and lets us see clearly.

But with age, the protein starts clumping together that cloud a small area of the lens. It keeps on increasing over time, making it harder to see.

It’s hard to determine what causes changes in eye lenses as we age. However, there are many other factors that can cause the cataract development.

These factors include:

• Nuclear cataracts: It affects the center of the nucleus. This type of cataract forms in the center of the eye. It increases gradually with age.
• Cortical cataracts: This type of cataracts affects the edges of the lens. This may start as whitish, wedge-shaped opacities on the outer edge of the lens cortex. Its streaks move to the center slowly and interfere with light passing through the center of the lens.
• Posterior subcapsular cataracts: It forms at the back of the lens. It usually affects your reading ability, creates a halo effect around light at night time. It progresses faster than other types of cataracts.
• Congenital cataracts: It is inherited by birth from the mother to her child. They can occur due to photonic dystrophy, rubella, certain infections, trauma, or drug reactions.

Here are some of the risks involved if left untreated:

• It increases with the aging process.
• There is a risk of developing cataracts due to some injury or tissue damage in the eye.
• It can develop due to some inherited reasons. Sometimes, babies are born with this problem and have a blurry vision by birth.
• Patients with diabetes are also at risk of developing cataracts.
• If alcohol is taken excessively, it can affect your vision.
• High blood pressure or hypertensions are also some of the reasons behind cataract development.
• Extensive sun exposure can damage your eye lenses.
• Getting exposed to cancer radiation therapy or ionizing radiation is also very harmful.
• Or it may develop due to some recent eye surgery.

Signs and Symptoms of Cataracts

• Having blurred cloudy or dim vision.
• Experiencing difficulty with vision during the night.
• Sensitivity to light and glare.
• Visualizing “halos” around lights at night.
• Need to change your eyeglasses or prescription for contact lenses frequently.
• Experiencing fading or yellowing of colors.
• Experiencing double vision in a single eye.
• Some of the serious symptoms include sudden changes in the vision, double vision or blurriness.

What does Cataracts Surgery Procedure Involve?

During the surgical procedure, your doctor will remove your clouded lens. In most cases, they replace it with a clear plastic intraocular lens, which becomes a part of your natural eye.

In case of other eye problems due to which patients cannot use replacement lenses, they should use eyeglasses or contact lenses to have a correct vision after cataract removal.

It is done on one eye at a time and a time period of a few weeks is given between the surgeries. It does not require overnight stay at the hospital as it is usually done on an outpatient basis.

The patient remains awake during the surgery as local anesthesia numb the area around the eye.After the surgery, your vision will improve within a few days. You may have a blurry vision at first. It will improve as your eye heals and adjusts.

You will have to visit your doctor’s day after your surgery and again after a month to monitor your healing process. Carefully follow the instructions and recommendations given by your surgeon for cataract recovery.

Get Best Quality Cataracts Treatment at Founders Eyecare

During the initial stages of cataract development, you can improve your vision for a while by using new glasses, strong bifocals, magnification, appropriate lighting, or other visual aids.

However, if it is seriously impairing your vision, then cataract surgery is essential. Discuss thoroughly with your ophthalmologist about your condition and schedule your surgery.

Visit Founders Eyecare in Castle Rock, Colorado, where expert doctors provide the best services to their patients. It includes thorough eye examinations, vision therapy, and eye surgery procedures.