Cataracts

Cataract – ailment when eye-lens become turbid. People experiencing this disease get blurry-image of the world around them, even when wearing glasses or special lenses. It is difficult for a person not only to read, but even to walk and distinguish people’s faces.

Most often, a cataract progresses rather slowly, without causing visual impairment in the first stages, but, at a certain stage, the disease still begins to complicate your perception of the world. There are several types of cataracts.

1. Nuclear-cataract affects lens’ central part. Initially, you experience symptomatology familiar to myopia. Later, there is usually some improvement, but after that, a cataract will blur vision qualities. Depending on stages, lens’ color may change, turn yellow over time and acquire a brown tint – it makes it difficult to perceive colors.
2. Cortical-cataracts influence lens’ edges. Such type is characterized by appearance of stripes or spots on the lens-cortex. Over time, they progress and begin to prevent normal passage of light-rays.
3. Posterior-subcapsular – this form of the disease affects lens’ back. Initially, little opaque areas are formed at lenses, directly in the path of the light beam. This complicates the process of reading and the like, and also impairs vision in bright light.
4. Congenital-cataract. Sometimes a person cannot avoid ailment, because this disease was transmitted to him/he from his/her parents or it developed in them at a very young age. This type of disease is genetic or caused by trauma.

Causes of cataracts

Cataracts may be caused by trauma or aging. Lenses can be damaged and it becomes further ground. Occasionally, the causes of cataracts can also be hereditary diseases, if they were not noticed and treated in time, as well as unsuccessful eye surgeries. Sometimes ailment may be triggered by diabetes or chronic use of steroids for a long period of time.

Risk factors are:

• smoking and consumption of tobacco-products;
• constant sunlight exposure;
• overweight and obesity;
• high blood pressure and vascular problems;
• inflammation of the lining;
• daily alcohol consumption in large quantities.

Symptoms of a cataract

Ailment can manifest itself in the following ways:

• the appearance of vision-problems (nebula, vagueness);
• high light sensitivity;
• poor night-vision;
• the ineffectiveness of lenses in glasses when they are worn;
• doubling surrounding things;
• modifications in color rendering of surrounding objects;
• change in the color of the lens.

Cataract diagnostics

When diagnosing, doctors use special eye-drops dilating pupils – this helps to better see ailment. Specialists conduct a complete examination of the eye, determining whether it is affected by ailment.

Cataract treatment

In initial stages of ailment development, you will need glasses or lenses, but this will no longer help. In this case, doctors recommend turning to a surgical method to combat this pathology. Many patients wait until the last moment, until the cataract takes over completely and takes away the ability to perceive the world normally, and only then agree to the operation.