Cataracts are a very common condition that affects nearly everyone as they age. They can occur in one or both eyes. While there are some rare occasions that can see someone suffering from a cataract earlier in their life (such as genetics, illness, or eye trauma), most people don’t have an issue until later in life. Because this is such a common—and sight-threatening—condition, it’s important to be regularly screened for cataracts from age 40 onwards.
Cataracts are caused when the proteins within the eye gradually clump together and settle on the lens. When light enters the eye, it needs to travel unobstructed through the lens to the back of the eye. These clumping proteins obstruct the smooth passage of light. As this obstruction increases, it causes the vision to deteriorate over time. It’s important to know that this is a very slow process that typically happens over many years. Left unchecked, cataracts will eventually cause significant impairment to vision, including total loss of sight. According to the World Health Organization, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. Thankfully, there are advanced cataract treatments that can remove the diseased lens and replace it with an artificial one, therefore restoring vision. Millions of these procedures are carried out each year with an extremely high success rate.
Cataracts can form in one or both eyes. They don’t usually progress at the same rate. It’s important to understand that, while age-related cataracts progress very slowly, those that form due to other circumstances, can progress more rapidly. Examples of the latter are those that occur due to illness, injury, genetics, or environmental factors. If this is the case, then you’ll likely be under the care of a specialist ophthalmologist who’s experienced in treating those in your conditions.
The later stages of cataracts will cause significant issues with vision. In addition, it becomes visibly noticeable, appearing as a milky white spot on the lens, meaning it can also be seen by other people looking at you. If the whole lens becomes clouded over then it will cause major problems with reading, watching TV, and driving.The key to successful cataract treatment is early diagnosis and then treatment at the correct time. The best time to undergo cataract surgery is before the disease becomes too advanced. Once a cataract is affecting your daily life, this is usually the correct time for the procedure to be carried out. During the early stages, the condition is often managed with prescription lenses and polarized sunglasses. This allows breathing time for you to come to terms with undergoing a surgical procedure and discussing your choices with your cataract surgeon. It’s important to understand that if you allow a cataract to progress unchecked then, once it reaches the late—or advanced—stage, it becomes more difficult to treat. Therefore, the condition is most commonly dealt with before this happens. Happily, cataract surgery is highly successful, quick, and carried out on thousands of people per day. The procedure involves numbing the eye and making a tiny incision, breaking down the lens of the eye, suctioning it out, and replacing it with an artificial lens. This is known as an Intraocular lens, or IOL. The procedure is painless and generally carried out on an outpatient basis. This means you return home the same day. In fact, the whole process usually takes less than an hour. Full recovery is usually fast, taking just a few weeks. Improvement in vision can be quite dramatic. Depending on the type of IOL you choose and the quality of your vision, you may even be able to live a life free from eyeglasses after a cataract operation.
In their early stages cataracts often cause no symptoms at all. As they progress, common signs include blurred vision, colors that look faded or yellowed, halos around lights, sensitivity to bright light, difficulty driving at night, trouble with close-up tasks in low light, and needing frequent changes to your glasses prescription. By the time these appear, a cataract is usually well formed.
Cataracts form when proteins inside the eye gradually clump together and settle on the lens. Light needs to pass cleanly through the lens to the back of the eye, and these clumps block its path, so vision slowly deteriorates. The process usually happens very slowly over many years, and most cataracts are simply a natural part of aging.
Age-related cataracts can begin forming any time after about age 40, but because they develop so slowly it is rare to notice serious symptoms before 60. They are often first spotted during a routine eye exam before you feel any change. For this reason, regular screening for cataracts is recommended from age 40 onwards.
Advancing age is the main risk factor, but several others can raise your chances or speed cataracts along. These include diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol, poor nutrition, heavy sun or radiation exposure, previous eye surgery or trauma, and long-term use of certain medications such as corticosteroids. Managing the factors within your control can help lower your risk.
The most common are age-related cataracts, which include nuclear (center of the lens), cortical (outer edge), and posterior subcapsular (back of the lens) types. Congenital cataracts are present from birth or early childhood, and traumatic cataracts develop after an eye injury. The type, and how quickly it progresses, helps determine the right time for treatment.
Yes. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world, and if left untreated they can progress until no light reaches the back of the eye, causing loss of sight. The good news is that this is preventable: a common, highly successful operation removes the clouded lens and replaces it with an artificial one to restore vision.
There are several possible reasons for cloudy vision, including allergies, irritants, infection, tiredness, and eye diseases such as macular degeneration. By far the most common cause, however, is advancing cataracts. Because cataracts also bring blurred vision, faded colors, halos around lights, and poor low-light vision, cloudiness that is slowly getting worse is worth having checked by an eye doctor.
Yes, cataracts are progressive and tend to worsen gradually. Age-related cataracts usually advance very slowly over many years, while those caused by illness, injury, genetics, or other factors can progress more quickly. They can also form in both eyes and develop at different rates. Treating a cataract before it becomes very advanced generally makes for a smoother procedure.
