Cataract: How to Prevent and Treat Eye Disease

How would it feel if you were made to look through a frosty glass or window? This is more or less what vision for cataract patient is. Cataract is caused due to a cloudy lens of the eye.

In a person without this eye disease, the light reaches the retina after passing through a clear lens. In a person with a cataract, the light passes through a cloudy eye lens because of which the light rays are distorted and this in turn causes distorted vision. As cataract worsens, vision gets more and more distorted.
Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity is compromised. The eyes become very sensitive to glare and light. Sometimes, a person may experience double vision. Vision at night is very poor. Colors are perceived as being faded or yellow. Moreover, the cataract sufferer’s spectacles prescription keeps changing frequently.

There are different types of cataracts such as age-related cataract, congenital cataract, traumatic cataract or even drug-induced cataract. However, most cataracts are age-related or due to injury. With age, the eye lenses get more rigid, they thicken and their transparency reduces. The tissues in the eye break down and bunch up leading to the clouding. In the beginning, this clouding may go unnoticed, but with time as the cataract worsens, the clouding also worsens are spreads to the entire eye lens. A single eye or both eyes may develop a cataract. Excessive exposure to sunlight, radiation, ultraviolet rays, and infrared radiation increases the risk of cataract. Diseases such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension also increase the chances of developing this eye disease. Hereditary factors also play a role in the development of cataract. Sometimes cataract may develop due to deficiency of iodine. Drug related cataracts are also not uncommon. Lifestyle factors such as tobacco and alcohol consumption must also be taken into account.

Fortunately, there are many tips and ways to reduce the risks of contracting this eye problem. There is no sure shot method for cataract prevention, but looking after your eyes will help them healthy and help keep eye diseases at bay. Simple lifestyle changes can go a long way in keeping your eyes in good condition. Stop smoking completely. Give up alcohol or keep alcohol consumption to a strict minimum. Maintain your ideal weight. If you are already your ideal weight do everything possible to keep it as it is. If you are underweight, grapple up to the required weight. As for overweight and obese individuals, they should follow weight loss programs to achieve their ideal weight or at least come as close as possible to their ideal weight. Physical exercise such as walking, running, cycling, swimming and other sports should be practiced a few times a week. A balanced diet is also crucial. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables especially those rich in antioxidants since they are believed to do a lot of good to our eyes. Vitamin E, Vitamin A and Vitamin C are beneficial although there is no scientific proof that they prevent cataracts. Studies are being conducted on N-acetylcarnosine, an antioxidant supposedly beneficial for cataract prevention. Keep other health complications that increase the risk of cataract such as diabetes and hypertension in check. Wearing protective sunglasses when outdoors is also valuable. Visit your eye doctor often to get eye check-ups done.

For those already suffering from this eye disease, the only treatment that promises effective results is eye surgery. To determine whether a person has a cataract the eye doctor will conduct different eye exam tests such as a visual acuity test or eye chart test, slit lamp test to check the eye structures in front of the eyes and a retinal examination to check the eye lens and the retina. If the existence of cataract is confirmed, the doctor may suggest the right time for the surgery. Only when the disease drastically affects normal functioning will he recommend operating the eyes. In most cases, during the surgery the clouding of the eye lens is corrected by removing the damaged lens and replacing it with an artificial clear lens implant. Sometimes, this lens implant may not be suitable for some individuals. In such cases, once the cataract is operated, the person is asked to wear corrective spectacles or contact lenses. A local anesthetic is used to perform a cataract surgery and therefore the patient is awake during the surgery. Moreover, the patient will be asked to go home the day of the surgery. Although the surgery is quite safe, it may cause other complications such as retinal detachment, endopathalmitis and posterior capsular opacification. Therefore, it is important to be informed about all plus and minus points of this surgery. If the cataract is mild and is not progressing rapidly some people even postpone the surgery. Till the person decides to get his cataract operated, he needs to follow simple lifestyle changes as part of a cataract aftercare plan.