Cataracts can be treated with surgery. Watch this video to learn more from Dr. Manvi Maker about how cataracts are treated.
Cataracts
Cloudy vision, foggy vision - that's how people describe cataracts. A cataract is a clouding of the eye's lens that happens so gradually you may not really notice it until you have trouble driving at night or difficulty reading. At that point, you may need cataract surgery - a standard procedure that is very effective.
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Dr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answeredSee All 14 AnswersIf you boil a pot of pasta by the kitchen window, the window is going to steam up so you can't see out of it. That's essentially what cataracts do: cloud the lens of your eye to cause blurry vision.
Though cataracts don't really cause a total loss of vision, the clouding can worsen over time to the point of making you legally blind (you're legally blind if you can't read the top letter E on a vision chart from a distance of 20 feet).
Many things, including UV light, cigarette smoke, and extra glucose in diabetics (all factors that accelerate arterial aging, by the way), can increase the risk of cataracts. In addition to avoiding these risk factors, getting adequate vitamin C may be helpful in protecting against cataracts.
Cataract surgery can remove the cataract and implant a new lens in the eye. -
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Reston Hospital Center answeredSee All 3 AnswersProblems after a surgery are rare, but they can occur. These problems can include infection, bleeding, inflammation (pain, redness, and/or swelling), loss of vision, double vision, and high or low eye pressure. With prompt medical attention, these problems can usually be treated successfully.
Sometimes, the eye tissue that encloses the intraocular lens (IOL) becomes cloudy and may blur your vision. This condition is called an after-cataract. An after-cataract can develop months or years after a cataract surgery.
An after-cataract is treated with a laser. Your doctor uses a laser to make a tiny hole in the eye tissue behind the lens to let light pass through. This outpatient procedure is called a YAG laser capsulotomy. It is painless and rarely results in increased eye pressure or other eye problems. As a precaution, your doctor may give you eyedrops to lower your eye pressure before or after the procedure.
This answer is based on source informationfrom the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
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Reston Hospital Center answeredSee All 2 Answers
Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world; however, surgery to remove cataracts is usually quite safe and effective. Possible complications from cataract surgery include eye infections or bleeding. Surgery also increases a person's risk for suffering from a detached retina, although this is rare. In some cases, people will experience a blurring of their vision after cataract surgery, known as a secondary cataract, but this is treatable.
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Johns Hopkins Medicine answeredSee All 2 AnswersIn the United States, the most common risk factor for cataracts is age. They may actually start to form in your 40s or 50s, with about 75 percent of all people in the U.S. over the age of 60 showing some signs of cataracts. It may take a while before they start to interfere with your vision, however.
In infants, cataracts may be congenital (present since birth) or result from an infection that happened during pregnancy (e.g., herpes and rubella). In youngsters, cataracts may develop from dietary deficiencies, including calcium and copper.
Other risk factors for cataracts include:
- Eye trauma
- Long-term diabetes
- Corticosteroid medications
- Radiation treatments
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Dr. Laura C. Fine, MD , Ophthalmology, answeredSee All 2 AnswersCataracts (clouding of the normally clear lens of the eye) are painless and progress slowly. Vision usually turns blurry, hazy, or dim, and glare from lights and the sun can be especially distressing. A person may experience double vision, as well as a distorted image; in the early stages, the eye may even become more nearsighted because the denser the lens, the greater its refracting power. Night vision worsens, and colors appear duller. Because most cataracts develop very slowly, people often don't understand what is wrong until the decline in visual acuity forces them to seek frequent changes in their eyeglass or contact lens prescription. These efforts become fruitless, however, because corrective lenses cannot reverse the opacity of cataract.
Anyone who experiences blurring or eye fatigue should visit an ophthalmologist (a physician who specializes in medical and surgical care of the eyes, as well as in prevention of eye disease) immediately for a full examination, because cataract is only one of several important diseases that affect vision. -
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See All 2 AnswersCCtaract surgery begins with two incisions in the eye. The cataract is scooped out and an implant replaces the natural lens. Learn more from Dr. Marian Macsai on behalf of NorthShore University HealthSystem about cataract surgery.
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Johns Hopkins Medicine answeredSee All 5 Answers
An eye doctor, usually an ophthalmologist, starts by taking a complete medical history. Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and determine if you are at risk for cataracts-for example, if you are over age 40 or have diabetes.
Next the physician performs a visual acuity exam. This is where you read a vision chart to measure how far off you are from the standard 20/20, and how the latest result compares to your last eye exam.
Finally, the doctor will dilate (open) your pupils with eyedrops and examine your eyes using an ophthalmoscope and a slit lamp.
Taken together, the results will help your doctor determine whether you have cataracts and if the cataracts have advanced.
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During cataract surgery, the actual structure that forms the cataract is removed, and an implant is put in its place. That cataract cannot come back. However, after cataract surgery, sometimes the thin layer that sits behind the implant can become cloudy, and some people refer to this as a "second cataract" This thin cloudy layer can be addressed in the office with a laser procedure. -
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Patients have a lot of options with cataract surgery as far as the implant that is put into a patient’s eye. Learn more from Dr. Marian Macsai on behalf of NorthShore University HealthSystem about cataract surgery.
