Cataract symptoms
People with cataracts will look like a person looking out through a steamed glass window! So blurred vision is a sign of cataracts, or blurring of the lens of the eye.
But will the symptoms of cataract be limited to this extent or does cataract have other clinical signs and manifestations?
Do you know the symptoms of cataracts?
Read on to find out about the clinical manifestations of cataracts.
By recognizing the symptoms of cataract in time and referring to an ophthalmologist and undergoing a very delicate and short surgical procedure, you can get rid of cataract.
In the past, when medical knowledge was not advanced, there were really wrong and sometimes superstitious beliefs about cataracts. for example, they said:
People who use their eyes a lot get cataracts
Cataracts were believed to be cancer in ancient times
There is no cure for cataracts at all
Cataracts were considered contagious in ancient times
Decades ago, people believed that cataracts were a veil drawn over the eyes of sinners.
Doctors today say none of these beliefs are true
It is said that cataracts increase with age, Doctors say that almost everyone over the age of 70 is at risk for ocular lens opacity or cataracts.
What is an eye lens?
In the middle of the eyeball and behind the pupil, there is a convex lens called the lens of the eye.
The dimensions of an adult's eye lens are about nine millimeters in diameter and about four millimeters thick.
In normal and healthy condition, your eye lens is very clear and does not even have any veins.
Its job is to focus the light that enters the eye through the pupil hole onto the fundus of the eye, called the retina, which actually contains light-sensitive cells.
It is the retinal sensitive cells that send the received light as nerve signals to the brain to process and prepare the image.
It is said that with age, changes occur in all proteins in the body, the lens of the eye also has proteins that changes, and this change reduces the transparency of the lens.
And the so-called cloudy and foggy vision will be created for the affected person, the word cataract also means the same foggy and cloudy vision.
What causes you to develop cataracts?
We said that as long as the eye and lens are healthy, light enters the eye through the pupil and will be focused by the lens on the retina, which is the membrane behind the eyeball.
By reducing the clarity of the lens of the eye due to changes and aging of its proteins, the image resolution is gradually reduced
In the early stages, only a small part of the lens may become cloudy and the person may not experience a serious problem. But often most people experience large opacities in the lens that gradually reduce their visual clarity. Doctors believe that the rate of cataract progression varies from person to person. Cataracts usually develop over several years, but interestingly, doctors say that the rate of cataract progression is faster in young people and people with diabetes.
Before telling the symptoms of cataracts, it is better to get acquainted with the types of cataracts and the causes and underlying causes of cataracts.
Types of cataracts
We said that over the years, the transparency of the eye lens will decrease and the lens will gradually become harder and duller.
- Cataracts due to systemic diseases and internal disorders:
Diabetes is one of these diseases.
- Cataracts due to trauma to the head and skull:
Years after head and skull trauma, a person may develop cataracts
The baby develops cataracts at birth or at the same age as a child. This type of cataract is usually very small and will have no effect on vision, but surgery is required if there is a disorder.
- Cataracts that are caused by a family background:
In first and second degree relatives:
- Cataract due to prolonged and chronic exposure to ultraviolet rays and sunlight without proper protection.
- Cataract due to a history of eye surgery
- Cataract due to a history of inflammatory disorders and diseases of the eye
- Cataracts due to tobacco, smoking and alcohol consumption
Cataracts are said to be the most common cause of vision loss after middle age worldwide.
In general, in summary, the possible causes involved in cataracts are as follows:
- Increasing age
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Being a smoker
- Have a history of surgery, injury or inflammation of the eye
- Prolonged and chronic use of corticosteroids (prednisolone and etc.)
- Severe myopia
- Having a family history
- Taking statin drugs that are used to modulate and reduce blood lipids such as rosuvastatin, atorvastatin and…
- Drinking too much alcohol
- People who have received hormone replacement therapy or HRT
Doctors and researchers consider the processes involved in the damage and aging of body cells to be oxidative processes, and cataracts are no exception.
Cataract symptoms
Before telling you the symptoms of cataracts, it is important to note that the following symptoms are not just for cataracts.
This means that there are many disorders and problems that can manifest with the following symptoms and are similar to cataracts, for example, diplopia is not limited to cataracts and can be present in other eye problems and so If you see one or more of the following symptoms in yourself or your relatives, it is necessary to visit an ophthalmologist as soon as possible.
The clinical manifestations of cataracts are varied. Here are the most common and important symptoms of cataracts or opacity of the lens of the eye:
- opacity of the eye
- Extreme sensitivity of the eyes to light and brightness, for example, extreme sensitivity of the eyes to the light of cars that come to your car with the headlights on
- See the halo around the bright lights
- Scattering of sunlight and bright lights
- Low vision at night and in the dark
- Fade colors
- Faint vision of the environment!!!
- Binoculars
- The occurrence of multiple vision, which becomes more and more with the development of cataracts
- Rising number of glasses or lens number
One of the symptoms of a person with cataracts is that they become more and more nearsighted and with so-called myopia.
Diagnosis
Your ophthalmologist will thoroughly examine you to determine the underlying cause of the symptoms. Problems of the anterior components of the eye, corneal inflammation, intraocular pressure to retinal problems, and optic nerve will be examined by an ophthalmologist If, in addition to cataracts and lens opacity, you have problems with the retina and other parts of your eye, your vision problems will not be completely resolved after cataract surgery.
Then at the examination, the ophthalmologist will measure your visual acuity, perform a tonometer or eye pressure measurement, and examine the lens and retina after dropping an eye drop that will dilate your pupil.
Your doctor will tell you after the above tests whether you need surgery or not. Cataract surgery is called Fico and the only way to cure cataracts will be. During Fico surgery, the opaque lens will be removed and the body-compatible synthetic lens will replace the opaque lens.
Delays in cataract treatment can reduce a person's vision to the point that the person can only count the fingers or, unfortunately, only perceive light. In this phase, the patient may also have an increase in intraocular pressure or glaucoma and may need emergency surgery. Therefore, emergency surgery will be complicated in this situation.
The final word
By being aware of the symptoms of cataracts and the clinical manifestations of ocular opacity, you will be able to more consciously analyze the symptoms of yourself and your loved ones. If you have any suspicious symptoms, see an ophthalmologist immediately and avoid many complications and unfortunate events with timely cataract surgery.