What is a Cataract? Causes, Symptoms and When to Consult Your Doctor

Cataracts are one of the most prevalent eye conditions, affecting millions of individuals globally. Everybody ultimately develops cataracts, however, the beginning age varies. It is quite frequent in the elderly. However, both congenital and developmental cataracts are prevalent.

Healthy eyes contain an internal clean lens that enables light to travel freely and forms a clear image on the retina, allowing us to see. Cataracts occur when the natural lens of the eye gets hazy, restricting light passage and resulting in blurred vision.

The majority of cataracts form slowly and do not impair your vision initially. However, cataracts will gradually impair your eyesight.

To begin with, greater illumination and spectacles can aid in the treatment of cataracts. However, if your reduced eyesight impairs your daily activities, you may require cataract surgery. Fortunately, cataract surgery is a relatively safe and effective treatment in most cases.

Causes:

Themajorityofcataractsariseasaresultofchangesinthetissuethatmakesuptheeye'slensduetoageorinjury.Thelens'sproteinsandfibrescontinuetodegrade,resultinginblurryorfoggyvision.

Certaininheritedgeneticabnormalitiesassociatedwithotherhealthconcernscansignificantlyraiseyourchanceofcataracts.Cataractscanalsobecausedbyothervisualproblems,previouseyesurgery,orotherproblemssuchasdiabetes.Cataractscanalsoformasaresultoflong-termusageofsteroidmedicines.

Symptoms:

• You will have a vision that is clouded, hazy, or dull
• Increased difficulty seeing at night
• Light and glare sensitivity
• Observation of "halos" surrounding lights
• Colour fading or yellowing
• Dual vision in an eye.

Initially, the cloudiness caused by a cataract may damage just a tiny portion of the lens of the eye, and you may be unaware of any visual loss. As the cataract progresses, it begins to obscure more of your lens and distorts the light travelling through it. This may result in more obvious symptoms.

How a cataract occurs:

A cataract is a medical term for a clouded lens. The lens is positioned beneath your eye's pigmented portion (iris). The lens concentrates light entering your eye, resulting in bright, sharp pictures on the retina — the light-sensitive membrane in your eye that operates similarly to film in a camera.

The lenses in your eyes grow less flexible, translucent, and thicker as you age. Proteins and fibres within the lenses degrade and clump together as a result of ageing and other medical disorders, clouding the lenses.

The clouding grows heavier as the cataract progresses. As light travels through the lens, a cataract scatters and filters light, preventing a finely defined picture from reaching the retina. Your eyesight becomes clouded as a result.

Cataracts develop in both eyes in the majority of cases, although not necessarily at the same rate. One eye's cataract may be more advanced than the other, resulting in a disparity in vision between the two eyes.

Cataracts of various types:

• Nuclear cataracts: A nuclear cataract may initially induce increased nearsightedness or even a brief improvement in your reading vision. However, with time, the lens becomes more thickly yellow and increasingly obscures your eyesight.

The lens may even become brown as the cataract advances. Advanced yellowing or browning of the lens might impair the ability to discern between colour tones.

• Cortical cataracts: A cortical cataract manifests as white, wedge-shaped opacities or streaks along the lens cortex's outer border. As the streaks advance slowly toward the centre, they obstruct light flowing through the lens's centre.
• Posterior subcapsular cataracts: A posterior subcapsular cataract begins as a tiny, opaque patch towards the lens's rear, directly in the path of light. A posterior subcapsular cataract frequently impairs reading vision, impairs vision in strong light, and creates glare or halos around night lights. These forms of cataracts develop more rapidly than other types.
• congenital cataracts: Some persons are born with or acquire cataracts throughout infancy. Cataracts may be hereditary or the result of an intrauterine illness or trauma.

These types of cataracts may also be caused by specific illnesses, including myotonic dystrophy, galactosemia, neurofibromatosis type 2, or rubella. Although congenital cataracts may not necessarily impair vision, they are typically removed promptly upon identification.

Go for an eye examination if you detect any changes in your vision. Consult your doctor immediately if you have abrupt visual changes such as double vision or flashes of light, sudden eye ache, or sudden headache. On https://cataractkolkata.com/, you can contact the best cataract specialist in kolkata. They are also renowned for the best eye surgery in kolkata. So, don't wait if you have any serious eye problem.