What
are cataracts?
As we age, our eyes age also. The
lens inside our eyes (compare it to a lens on your camera) becomes opaque
(cloudy). Instead of the light going straight through the lens to the retina
where our brain and retinas (one in each eye) give us sight, the light is
distorted by the opaque areas of the lens.
This normal aging occurrence called Cataracts affects most people.
Symptoms
of cataracts include hazy, blurry vision which
may start as a small area of blurriness and worsens. You may notice that lights (especially at
night) glare and cause a halo of light around whatever you are looking at. You
may notice colors aren’t as bright as they have been in the past.
What
causes cataracts?
Cataracts are considered a normal part of aging. However, researchers recognize these risk
factors as contributing to cataract development: UV lights, smoking, diabetes and high blood
pressure, obesity, some drugs such as corticosteroids, statin medicines, and
hormone replacement drugs, previous eye injury and surgery and a family history
of cataracts.
Can
cataracts be prevented? The experts aren’t sure but they suspect that
protecting your eyes from UV rays and eating a healthy diet which includes
vitamin E, vitamin C, and omega-3 fatty acids may help prevent cataracts.
Treatment
for cataracts ultimately involves surgery. You
may be able to delay surgery for a while with a new pair of glasses. Eventually surgery is the answer. However, over the past 40 years the
improvements in cataract surgery has been amazing to watch. According to allaboutvision.com, cataract
surgery is the surgery most often performed in the US. With the improvements in surgery, a
replacement plastic lens called an IOL (intraocular lens) will be
implanted. Most people get excellent
results and their after surgery vision is within the 20/20 to 20/40 range.
Information from the American
Academy of Opthalmology about cataracts can be found at
http://www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart/diseases/cataracts/index.cfm
For more Tips for Eye Health in
People 40-60, check out this website
Tips for Eye Health in People over
60 can be found at
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