Cataracts and What Causes Them

Cataracts are cloudy areas that appear in the lens of the eye. This opacity in the lens makes seeing difficult for people, making things appear foggy because light is no longer focused properly through the lens. Cataracts develop because denatured proteins clump together in the lens. Cataracts are most common in people above the age of 40, but it may be until the age of 60 before any of them have their vision impacted.

Cataracts are a major problem that could impact one’s day-to-day life and make any kind of work difficult to maneuver. It is best to catch and treat cataracts before they become too large. If you wish to consult a physician about your vision, we recommend these Eye specialist in Lahore if you live in the city.

Symptoms

Because cataracts are restricted to the eye the symptoms associated with them are all related to vision. These include:

• Foggy, or blurred, vision
• Difficulty seeing during the night time
• A sensitivity to bright light
• Apparent glare from any source of light
• Double vision
• Colours progressively get less vivid and clear
• Continuous changes in eyewear magnification prescriptions

Causes

Cataracts are most commonly caused by aging or by direct trauma to the eye, but there are certain other factors can increase the risk of them developing. These include:

• Injury to the eye after surgery
• Diabetes
• Various eye conditions
• Genetic predisposition
• Certain genetic disorders that cause other diseases
• Long-term steroid use
• UV radiation and radiation therapy
• Smoking
• Overabundance of oxidants

Types of Cataracts

Though cataracts are an eye-specific condition, there are different types of cataracts that are distinguished by where they originate and how they develop. These include:

• Nuclear Cataracts: These cataracts affect the center of the lens. Early on, this cataract may seemingly improve vision or make you more nearsighted, however, with time the cataract may yellow and become dense, gradually impairing vision. Further development results in browning of the cataract, which may make it difficult to distinguish shades of colour.
• Cortical Cataracts: This type develops at the edge of the lens, and begins as white streaks spreading towards the center of the lens, where it interferes with sight the most.
• Posterior Subcapsular Cataracts: This kind of cataract spreads faster than the other types of cataracts. This begins as a small opaque region at the back of the lens around its center, where it can interfere with vision to the point of reducing it in bright light.
• Congenital Cataracts: These are less common than the other kinds. They are present at the point of birth, and may be due to genetic predisposition or environment factors.

Treatment

If the cataracts affecting your vision have not progressed far and are not that severe, the best course of action would simply be to get prescription glasses with new magnifications that account for the change the cataracts affect. These could also be customized with an anti-glare coating that could reduce the glare that is normally associated with cataracts.

If the situation is more severe, the only option is surgery. One surgical option that is available is phacoemulsification, which entails the emulsification, or breakdown, of the lens with sound waves and the subsequent removal of the remaining fluid.

There are other options available, and you should consult a physician about which one is best and most appropriate for you to undergo. We recommend these Eye specialist in Karachi, for those of you that need a physician in that city.