Nowadays, carats are causing more vision problems around the globe than any other eye disease or condition. The number of people with cataracts is ever increasing due to the aging population. In the U.S alone, the number of people with cataracts stood at 24.41 million, and the number is anticipated to grow to about 50 million people by 2050.
What Are Cataracts What Causes Them?
It is an eye condition that is, characterized by the clouding the lens of your eye. If you have cataracts, it becomes a bit difficult to see through the cloudy lenses. Sometimes, you may feel like you are looking through a fogged window. Cataracts may make it difficult for you to read or even drive a car, especially at night.
For most people, cataracts develop slowly over the years. At first, cataracts may not show any symptoms, and using eyeglasses and stronger light can help you to cope with them. With time, cataracts might impair your vision. Before you get to this point, you can have treatment (normally surgery) to save your eyesight; otherwise, it can lead to complete blindness. Proteins and water are the main components that make the lenses of your eyes. Cataracts result when the protein in the lenses changes its structure, thus resulting in the cloudiness. The changes in the proteins can be due to aging. Therefore, most of the older people with cataracts have no problems with their eyesight.
In some people, cataracts can occur at birth, and they can also develop in childhood. If a child is born with cataracts, it is mainly due to a faulty gene. However, if cataracts develop in a child after birth, it could be due to an infection or the trauma experienced during pregnancy. But, you will rarely find cataracts in newborn babies and children. Other factors such as diabetes, certain eye conditions such as uveitis, previous eye surgery and using high doses of corticosteroids may increase the risk of developing cataracts. Other extrinsic factors that may increase the risk of developing cataracts include poor die, taking too much alcohol, smoking, and too much exposure to sunlight.
Can You Remove Cataracts? How Soon After They Appear?
Cataracts may be asymptomatic to some people, and therefore there is no need to remove them simply because they are present. If your cataracts do not interfere with your vision or your daily activities, then there is no need to remove them. But, if they prevent you from leading a normal life, you might consider surgery to remove them.
What If Cataracts Appear On Both Eyes?
In some people, cataracts may form on both eyes causing blurred vision. In such cases, surgery can be performed on both eyes several weeks apart. Experts advise against performing surgery on both eyes at the same time since it can result in complications, thus affecting both eyes. You can look out for any cataract surgery nashville tn for more information on cataract surgery.
How Does Surgery Help To Get Rid Of Cataracts?
Initially, the doctor may prescribe glasses to help you cope with the cataract symptoms. However, if the damage progresses to the point where it affects your normal life, then surgery could be the only viable option. During the surgery, the doctor will remove the cataract-damaged lens and replace it with a clear plastic lens. The goal of the surgery is to remove the cloudy eye lens and restore your vision as much as possible.
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