The disease and its causes

A patient with a cataract has an eye condition in which the lens of the eye becomes clouded over. When the lens becomes completely opaque, no longer allowing light to pass through to the retina, sight is completely lost.
The likelihood of cataract development increases with age, peaking at greater than 70% of the over 75 years population. This clouding of the lens is seen most frequently after the middle age, as the tissues of the eye lenses degenerate. But some people are born with cataracts and others may inherit the disease or the tendency toward it. Cataracts are caused by nutritional diseases such as diabetes and rickets, an injury to the eye lens or lens capsule, and by diseases of the eye. Certain drugs, and exposure to radium X ray, can also cause toxic hazards.

The disease may start in one eye, but eventually it will affect both. This is not because it is “catching” or infectious. What it signifies is that the same physical breakdown takes place in the second eye. From start to finish the development of cataracts can take about two years. Usually it is seen without any other sign of eye disease.

Symptoms

Regardless of the cause, the symptoms of most cataracts are the same. With time, the patient sees less and less, and his sensitivity to light decreases. He may develop double vision and nearsightedness. Often he will complain of spots before his eyes or have unexplained daytime headaches. On close examination the pupil of the affected eye, normally black, takes on a milky gray or whitish color.

Complications

Slow but continuously increasing loss of vision is the most serious complication which develops as the cataract grows. An eye disease in which the cataract is a secondary condition can cause blindness if the primary infection or injury is not properly treated. Most cataracts accompany old age and there is little that can be done to prevent their development. When they are secondary to injury or infection their development can be prevented with prompt care.

Surgery

In which the cataract-covered lens of the eye is removed – is considered the only effective treatment for cataracts once they have developed. After the operation, the patient wears special cataract glasses or contact lenses which effectively replace the clouded eye lens removed in the operation. However, it usually takes several months after the operation before the patient gets used to this and adequate vision returns. These information were taken from the New Illustrated Medical and Health Encyclopedia.

What you can do?

As with many health conditions, you can take preventive measures to reduce your risk of developing a cataract. These were taken from elderissues.com. The measures include:

• Having regular eye examinations that include cataract screening
• Keeping your eyes from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light by using sunglasses that block UV penetration and by wearing a hat with a wide brim
• Managing illnesses such as diabetes to reduce your risk of complications as a result of systemic diseases
• Reducing your risk of eye injury by wearing protective goggles for active sports and work in which your eyes could be exposed to chemicals or injury
• Staying in good nutritional balance and eating eye healthy foods that are rich in vitamin C and beta carotene
Once you have developed a cataract and are experiencing some difficulty with your vision, you can maximize your ability to see by:
• Increasing your lights at home and at work to make sure your work areas are well lit to ease reading and working; assure that light comes from more than one source
• Reducing glare on television screens by paying close attention to room lighting and making sure the light doesn’t reflect on the TV screen; adjust window shades and treatments to also reduce glare
• Using larger print for writings and readings – a magnifying glass may also be helpful

With the advances in medical knowledge it is now possible to reduce your risk of cataracts and to prevent their formation.