Cataract Surgery
Cataract surgery is the only way to fix a cataract. A cataract is like having a fog covering the lens of your eye blocking the passage of light to the retina, it is virtually painless. The nerve layer at the back of the eye is called the retina. The nerve cells in the retina detect light entering the eye sending nerve signals to the brain about what the eye sees. Your vision may become impaired because cataracts block this light.
What causes cataracts?
The biggest causes of cataracts are exposure to sunlight and aging. As you age your eyes will change and that is to be expected, but those changes don't always lead to cataracts.
If you injure your eye you may experience a cataract later on, eye disease may cause cataracts, certain medicines or health problems such as diabetes can cause cataracts. And sometimes small children are born with these cloudy lenses.
Symptoms
While some cataracts don't cause vision problems the majority affect your sight.
• You may experience cloudy, fuzzy, or foggy vision
• You may see glare or have trouble driving at night because of the glare from headlights
• Increased prescription changes for your eyeglasses
• Double vision in one eye
• If you are farsighted and have a cataract your vision may actually improve for a short period - they call this second sight
Diagnosing cataracts
You will need a physical exam performed by your doctor to see if you have cataracts. Your physician will ask questions about your symptoms and any other health problems. You may require addition testing to insure that you have a cataract and not another condition that could be causing your vision problem.
How are they treated?
The only way to correct vision loss caused by a cataract is by surgery. If an older adult has a cataract it doesn't necessarily need to be removed. Vision loss from a cataract is a slow process and sometimes never becomes severe.
If you are having vision problems there are numerous things that you can do like get eyeglasses, contacts, or other vision aids. Keep your vision prescription up to date. Check your home to make sure the there is plenty of light. You may be able to avoid or at least delay surgery. If you decide to have surgery be assured that it usually works extremely well.
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