Cataracts: Some Myths Dispelled
BELINDA REDDEN , of Highland Perthshire Opticians in Pitlochry and Aberfeldy, clears up some points and anxieties
Cataract is the clouding of the lens within the eye. The human lens is a clear, flexible, oval structure situated in roughly the middle of the eye. It is suspended by tiny ligaments which can tighten and loosen to alter the shape of the lens, allowing the eye to change focus from one distance to another.
When cataract develops it is hazing of the lens within the eye, not a film which grows over the eye. Overusing your eyes will not cause cataract, it is not contagious and it is not painful. Most cataracts are normal age based change. More than half of all Americans will develop cataracts by age eighty.
Although most common in people over sixty, cataracts can occur at any age. When cataract occurs in younger people they are usually caused by a chronic medical condition, eye trauma, or certain prescription drugs. For adults, risk factors may include smoking and long term steroid use. |
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Cataract may take months or years to develop and does not always progress beyond the early stage when vision loss is minimal. If cataract develops to the point that vision is seriously impaired then treatment is necessary. Cataract does not have to be mature or ripe to be treated. Generally it is removed when it interferes with the patient’s lifestyle.
Symptoms of cataract included blurred, filmy or fuzzy vision, sensitivity to light and glare. The treatment of cataract is extremely effective. It can be removed under local anaesthetic in a twenty minute out-patient procedure. Cataract is not removed by lasers. When the pacified lens is removed it is replaced by a clear plastic lens called an introcular lens implant. Amazingly, the incision is generally so small no stitches are required. Sometimes months or years after surgery, a thin membrane can develop behind the lens implant which is removed by laser.
If you do develop cataract it is important to remember that
it is not a disease process,
it does not grow back once removed, and
most patients experience clearer vision right after surgery.
Your optometrist will examine your eyes for cataract as part of a routine examination.
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