What you should know about Cataract
A clouding of the lens in your eye that affects vision is called a cataract. The lens also adjusts the eye’s focus, letting us see things clearly. In the case of a normal eye, light passes through the transparent lens to our retina; once it reaches the retina, light changes into nerve signals which are then sent to our brain.
Therefore the lens must be clear for the retina to get a crisp image. If the lens is cloudy from a cataract, the image you see will be blurred. The lens is made of protein and water; and as we age, some of the protein may cluster up together and cloud an area of the lens. This is a cataract.
With time, a cataract can get bigger and cloud more of the lens, making it tough to see. A cataract can occur in either or both eyes but cannot spread from one eye to the other.
Watch out for symptoms including blurry vision, faded colours; extraordinarily bright lights, poor night vision or double vision in the eye.
Additionally, diseases like diabetes; habits like smoking and drinking alcohol and excess time in the sun affect cataract. The symptoms of early cataract can be helped by wearing new prescription glasses, anti-glare sunglasses and better lit environments. The next step is surgery as advised by your doctor. Surgery involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial lens.
Care for cataract:
Give up smoking and drinking. Good nutrition can help lessen age-related cataract. Consuming green leafy vegetables; fruits, and foods rich in vitamins and antioxidants are beneficial.
Health seekers above 60 years of age and more must have a complete eye exam once a year. Early detection and treatment can save your eyesight.
A cataract definitely needs to be removed when vision loss disrupts your daily routine: reading, watching TV, writing or driving. You will usually be advised to remove a cataract even if it doesn’t cause you vision problems. Your eye doctor will help you make this decision by explaining the benefits and risks of surgery.
Make an appointment with the eye specialist in the S10 Health SafeCare Network today!
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