Nancy Brown
Age-related cataracts is a common eye condition that occurs when the proteins in your eye’s lens start to break down after 40. To treat this, you must reach out to a reputable eye specialist to restore your clear vision.
Cataracts are cloudy areas on the lenses of your eyes. People with cataracts experience blurry vision and glare around lights. While cases of age-related cataracts are the most common, people can develop the condition at a younger age owing to some environmental, medical and genetic factors. If you are experiencing similar issues, then connect with an eye specialist in Bangalore at Apollo Hospitals Bannerghatta Road.
Types of Cataracts
There are many types of cataracts, including:
- Paediatric cataract: Affects babies and children
- Traumatic cataract: Forms when something injures your eye
- Secondary cataract: Includes cloudy patches that form on the lens capsule or the membrane covering the lens
- Age-related cataract: There are several types referring to their location in the lens:
- Nuclear sclerotic cataract: Forms in the nucleus, which is the centre of the lens
- Cortical cataract: Forms in the cortex, which is the layer surrounding the nucleus
- Posterior subcapsular cataract: Forms in the posterior (back of the lens) cortex
Symptoms of Cataracts
The following are the cataract symptoms:
- Cloudy, blurry, foggy or filmy vision
- Colours may look faded or not as vivid
- Changes in your vision prescription
- Difficulty seeing at night
- Double vision
- Glare, including halos or streaks that form around lights
- Near-sightedness gets worse
- Needing a brighter light to read
- Sensitivity to bright sunlight, headlights or lamps
Causes of Cataracts
The gradual breakdown of proteins in the eye lens is the major cause of cataracts. Notably, the proteins in your lenses begin to break down around the age of 40. However, the symptoms show up when you are aged 60 or above.
There are some other factors that can raise the risk of developing cataracts at a younger age.
- Environmental risk factors: Air pollution, tobacco smoke, alcohol, industrial chemicals, pesticides, long-term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun and/or history of radiation therapy to the upper part of your body
- Genetic risk factors: Family history of cataracts and/or some genetic mutations lead to congenital (present at birth) cataracts
- Medical risk factors: Diabetes, high blood sugar, eye surgeries (like glaucoma), using corticosteroids to treat certain medical conditions (like rheumatoid arthritis) and/or eye diseases (for example: retina pigmentosa and uveitis)
Diagnosis of Cataracts
Ophthalmologists and optometrists conduct a comprehensive eye exam to look for the signs of cataracts and evaluate their severity. While they will inquire about your medical history and the troubles you are facing with everyday tasks, some specific tests (like slit lamp exam or visual acuity test) might be ordered to diagnose cataracts.
Cataract Treatment
Let’s dive deeper to learn about the options available to treat cataracts:
- Surgery: The procedure involves replacing the clouded natural lens with an intraocular lens (IOL), which is an artificial lens that permanently stays in your eye and can correct refractive errors too. They are considered the best for restoring your clear vision.
- Home treatment: Early on, you can use brighter lights at home or work, wear anti-glare sunglasses and use magnifying lenses for reading and other activities to manage cataracts.
- New spectacles: A new prescription for contact lenses or eyeglasses can aid you in seeing better with cataracts early on.
How to Prevent Cataracts?
As a typical part of ageing, you develop cataracts. The following tips can help promote your eye health and potentially slow the cataract development process:
- Do not smoke tobacco products
- Wear sunglasses or eyeglasses with an anti-UV coating
- Go for regular eye check-ups
By and large, most people develop age-related cataracts that occur as proteins in your eye’s lens start to break down. Cataracts can be managed with a new prescribed pair of eyeglasses early on or treated with surgery. If you have more related queries, then you can reach out to an eye specialist in Bangalore at Apollo Hospitals Bannerghatta Road for the appropriate advice.
