What You Need to Know if Cataracts Clouds Your Vision

The medical etymology of “cataract” is derived from the Latin word for a portcullis. That’s the heavy gate that was dropped to prevent an enemy from invading the courtyard of a castle. In this sense, a cataract is like an opaque veil that age drops over the lens of your eye.

Untreated cataracts will definitely impair your vision, but there is good news. In a qualified setting, the modern surgical procedure to remove cataracts is simple, quick, safe, and effective. And your vision is likely to improve after cataract surgery.

What causes cataracts?

Our eyes are naturally equipped with lenses that refract (bend) the light that enters our eyes. As original equipment, these lenses are clear as crystal. This clarity enables our eyes to transmit clear vision to the retina, the light-sensitive membrane that functions like the film in a camera.

But, around the age of 40, the proteins in the lenses of our eyes start to slowly break down and adhere together. These adhesions will ultimately create a cloudy area on the lens. That cloudy area is a cataract. As it passes through a cataract, the light that conveys images of the outside world to optical receptors in the brain is blocked or scattered.

How widespread are cataracts?

Cataracts affect more than 24 million Americans over the age of forty. That’s about one in every six people in this age group. By the age of 80, more than half of all Americans will have developed cataracts in one or both eyes. Cataracts are slightly more common in women than in men.

Can cataracts cause blindness?

If a cataract is left untreated, it can cause blindness.  According to the World Health Organization, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. In the US, cataracts are considered a conquered condition, because effective treatment amounting to a cure is widely available.

What are the symptoms of cataracts?

Early on, you feel like more light is needed in order to read. Later on, cataracts can make you feel as though you’re viewing life from behind a dirty window. Things look blurry, hazy, and less colorful through a cataract. Cataracts especially tend to interfere with night vision. You’ll not only need a brighter light for reading, but you’ll also be sensitive to glare.

Are there different types of cataracts?

There are three primary types of age-related cataracts: nuclear sclerotic, cortical, and posterior subcapsular.

1. Nuclear sclerotic is the most common type of age-related cataract. It’s caused by the degradation of the lens that naturally occurs over time. Nuclear sclerotic cataracts change your eyes’ ability to focus, and sometimes those focal changes can cause your close-up vision to temporarily improve (emphasis on the word “temporarily”). These cataracts progress slowly. It may take years of gradual cataract development before your eyesight is noticeably affected. The earliest symptom is needing more light to read.
2. Cortical cataracts develop on the peripheral edge of the lens. Age-related changes in the water content of the lens cause fissures that look like spokes of a wheel. This condition can cause the light entering the eye to scatter. This leads to blurred vision, sensitivity to glare, and impaired depth perception.
3. Posterior subcapsular cataracts form on the back surface of the lens, under the membrane that encloses the lens and keeps it in place. These cataracts can interfere with close vision, such as reading, and may create a halo or glare effect around lights. People who use cortical-steroids or have diabetes are more likely to incur these cataracts.

Factors that increase the risk of cataracts include:

• Advancing age
• Overexposure to bright sunlight
• Smoking tobacco
• Diabetes
• Prolonged use of corticosteroids
• High blood pressure
• Previous eye trauma or inflammation
• Overuse of alcohol
• Chronic Dehydration

Can cataracts be prevented?

Cataracts are the result of a natural breakdown of anatomical tissue, so there’s no sure path to prevention. However, the progression of cataracts can definitely be slowed by some commonsense steps:

• Schedule regular eye examinations
• If you smoke tobacco, stop. (This is good advice in any context.)
• Tend to other medical conditions, like diabetes or high blood pressure, that may elevate your risk of developing cataracts.
• Adopt a healthy diet that emphasizes antioxidants. A large population study recently showed that a diet rich in vitamins and minerals was linked to a reduced risk of cataract development.
• Wear sunglasses
• Eliminate excessive use of alcohol (more generally appropriate advice).

What is the treatment for cataracts?

If you’ve been diagnosed with cataracts, your prescription glasses are no longer providing a solution, and the symptoms are increasingly interfering with your daily activities, don’t despair. Don’t even be discouraged. The available ophthalmologic techniques and technology produce surgical results that are equivalent to a cure.

In fact, your vision after cataract surgery may be significantly better than it was, even before your cataracts began to develop.

Cataract surgery has a remarkably lengthy history

A process known as “couching” dates back to the fifth century BC. In that procedure, the cataract was not removed from the eye. Instead, the surgeon used a needle to move the cataract out of the field of vision. Because the cataract was no longer blocking the light entering the eye, vision improved. But as you can imagine, the process implicated many complications, frequently including loss of all vision in the affected eye.

Modern cataract surgery techniques are light-years beyond of couching

With today’s cataract surgery, the defective lens is removed and replaced with a clear artificial lens, called an intraocular lens (IOL). This IOL is placed in the same position that was previously occupied by your natural lens. It becomes a permanent part of your eye. A wide variety of intraocular lenses are available, including toric lenses that remedy astigmatism and Multifocal lenses helping with both near and distance.

Medicare and most private insurers generally cover standard cataract surgery, including the installation of a mono-focal lens. A monofocal intraocular lens is designed for either distance or close-up focus. Most patients choose a lens that improves long-distance vision, such as is necessary for driving. After such surgery, prescription eyeglasses (for finer distance vision) and reading glasses (enabling near vision), or bifocals (for both) can provide excellent vision.

Do cataracts come back after removal?

Once the cataract is removed, it does not regrow. Some patients may develop a posterior capsule opacification which can cause vision to get slightly blurry after surgery. This may occur at any time during the postoperative period. It’s caused by residual lens cells that grow along with the original lens’ capsular envelope that is not removed at surgery. The capsular envelope holds the lens implant in place.

A simple, low risk, and quick laser to “polish” the capsular envelope will permanently resolve this issue.

What is premium cataract surgery?

Premium cataract surgery encompasses an array of advanced intraocular lenses and technologies. These premium platforms offer even more precision, the surgery is gentler on the eye, and both distance and close-up vision are enabled. Premium lenses are designed to help patients eliminate their dependence on reading and distance glasses alike.

Premium cataract surgery is often not fully covered by insurance. Make sure to explore this option with your eye surgeon.

Why Choose Assil Gaur Eye Institute for your eye care?

The doctors at Assil Gaur Eye Institute offer world-class eye care and vision correction specializing in LASIK, cataract, cornea, retina, and glaucoma treatments.  At AGEI, you will experience state-of-the-art medical facilities that bring together revolutionary technologies with the most experienced hands in ophthalmology. Our goal is to help you achieve your personal best vision.

For more information or to schedule a consultant, please call 866-945-2745 or visit us here to make an appointment.