Category
Health
VSP Contributor, 22 Apr 2015

All You Need To Know About Cataracts

Share this post:

Did you know that more than 22 million Americans, over the age of 40, are diagnosed with cataract disease? As age increases, so does the risk of cataracts developing and worsening, resulting in over half of Americans over the age of 80 with the disease.

Though this ailment isn’t uncommon, caring for individuals with cataract disease can be incredibly challenging, especially without the proper resources. In this article, we will explore the depths of this disease and discuss different options to make caring for our beloved cataracts patients or ourselves easier.

What Is A Cataract?

Before delving into the definition of a cataract, it’s important to understand what the eye’s lens is and how it affects vision.

The lens lies beneath the eye’s cornea and assists in focusing light and images onto your retina. Once light and images pass through the transparent lens and reach the retina, they are transmitted into nerve signals and transported to the brain.

As individuals grow older, the proteins inside the lens painlessly clump together, clouding this typically clear lens. This clouding of the lens is called a cataract. With the retina unable to receive clear images, eyesight becomes incredibly blurred and, if untreated, can occasionally result in blindness.

Types Of Cataract

Though most cases of cataracts are age-related, other types of cataracts do exist.

Secondary Cataract: Sometimes a cataract can occur after surgery or other eye and health problems, like glaucoma, diabetes and steroid abuse.
Traumatic Cataract: Cataracts can occasionally develop days or even years after the eye experiences a traumatic injury, like impalement.
Congenital Cataract: Sometimes babies can be born with cataracts or may develop them at a young age. Though both eyes are typically affected with congenital cataracts, they are often so small that vision is not altered. If vision is impaired, however, surgical lens removal is typically required.
Radiation Cataract: Cataracts have also been known to develop after extensive exposure to various types of ionizing radiation like that used in cancer therapy and X-rays.

The Causes Of Cataracts

As we discussed earlier, the scientific cause for cataracts is the clumping of proteins in the eye’s lens. Though cataracts begin small, affecting only a small portion of the lens, time and age typically worsen this disease, causing vision impairment over time. Though this is a painless process, the deterioration of vision can be both frustrating and frightening.

Recently, researchers have discovered that lifestyle habits and certain behaviors can add to the risk of cataract disease, like:

Frequent sun exposure without proper eye protection
Smoking
High blood sugar
High blood pressure
Steroid medications
Hormone replacement therapy
Excessive amounts of alcohol
Obesity

Common Cataract Symptoms

No matter how well we care for our or our loved ones eyes, the development of cataracts is often inevitable. However, with regular eye exams and maintained, conscious vision health, cataracts can be detected early with the possibility of treatment options. If you notice any of the following eye symptoms in either you or your loved ones, make an appointment with your optometrist as soon as possible.

1) Your vision appears cloudy, blurry or dim – as if you are looking at the world like it’s an impressionist painting.

2) Doing activities at night becomes much more difficult and the eye’s lens appears darker with a hint of yellow or brown.

3) Eyes become extremely sensitive to light. In many cases, this is the first symptom of cataracts – bright lights become painful to the eye.

4 The clouded lens diffracts light entering the eye causing halo-like rings to surround the light source.

5) Eyesight becomes rapidly and increasingly worse, causing you or your loved ones to frequently need new glasses or contacts.

6) The yellow or brownish clumps of protein in your lens give everything a yellowish tint making differentiating between colors difficult.

7) Your eye’s clouding is causing you have double vision or diplopia.

Prepare Properly

Again, if you or your loved one notices any of the above symptoms, make an appointment with your optometrist immediately. If cataracts are indeed determined, you’ll likely be referred to an ophthalmologist, or an eye specialist who performs cataract surgery.

Being well prepared for your appointment is important, especially considering that most appointments are brief and a lot of information can be left out. However, with these five preparatory tips, you can go into your appointment confident and ready.

1) Write down a list of questions you want to ask your doctor. You might want to ask about surgery protocol, risks, timelines and more.

2) Make a list of all the medications you or your loved one is taking. Be sure to include vitamins and supplements as well, as they may be of importance to your case.

3) Don’t go alone. Obviously if you’re attending the appointment with your loved one, this isn’t applicable, but keep in mind that absorbing medical information like this can be difficult.

4) Make a list of key happenings in your life: stresses, life changes, and other personal information.

5) Most importantly, be sure to write down any and all symptoms you’ve experienced and how long you’ve been experiencing them. Don’t hesitate to include symptoms you may think are unrelated.

Visit VSP Direct

Take care of your eyes and the sight of your loved ones with a reliable vision insurance plan from VSP Direct. With low out-of-pocket costs and hundreds of dollars in annual savings, VSP Direct is a dependable, affordable source for vision health solutions. Enroll today at (800)-785-0699.