Cataracts - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Cataracts are a severe eye inflicted problem that can make life miserable for people. Cataracts can be caused due to age and diseases like diabetes.

One can eliminate the symptoms of this ailment through anti glare sunglasses. However, surgery is quite effective when these measures do not yield any results. A victim can take an intelligent decision about the option of surgery after evaluating its pros and cons. The eye care specialist can aid him in taking this decision. Since cataract, impairs the normal flow of life by reducing and eliminating vision, its timely rectification is necessary. One can postpone the decision to have surgery but it only makes the matters worse by ruining the vision. It also becomes tougher to conduct surgery when the cataract has existed for a long time. Sometimes, treating this problem is necessary even if it does not obstruct vision. It can make it impossible for the doctor to check another eye for problems like muscle loss due to ageing.

Therefore, any person above the age of 40 can develop cataracts. However, one has to be at least 60 years old, so that cataracts can also impair the vision. Common symptoms of this ailment are hazed vision, fading of colors when you see them and a weak night vision.

Cataract generally occurs in old people when they have developed eye ailments like glaucoma. They can also be caused due to consumption of steroids. Sometimes, eyes can get hurt in accidents, which can lead to an incidence of this ailment after years.

There are many reasons behind the occurrence of cataract. Apart from factors like ageing, this disease can also occur due to genetic factors. Congenital cataract can happen to babies. However, this kind of cataract does not have an adverse impact on vision. If it has, a person might require an eye transplant surgery, which involves replacement of both eye lenses. Even exposure to radiation can also produce this ailment.

A person can also suffer from double vision. He/she can see several images of the same object. In fact, if a person wears prescription glasses, then his number increases frequently. Cataract can be detected through complex medical exams. Such exams can reveal how well you can see from different distances. Such tests are visual acuity test, tonometry and dilated eye exam. In the former, an eye chart is used to measure your eyesight. In the dilated eye exam, the eye pupil is stretched through drops. After that, the eye specialist inspects the retina through a magnifying lens to find any eye damage. The vision is not normal after this exam is over. In fact, the near vision is obscure for hours. In the last kind of test, tonometry, an instrument is used to gauge the eye pressure. Eye drops that reduce the pain are added before commencing the test. In this ailment, a clump forms on the pupil of the eye