Cataract

Cataract is a clouding of the eye's naturally clear lens. Most cataracts appear with advancing age. Scientists are unsure what causes cataract. A condition of the focusing lens of the eye when the lens become cloudy reducing light transmission to the retina and hence diminishing visual acuity. Cataracts are commonly associated with aging but also may be precipitated by trauma.The most important factor is increasing age, but there are additional factors, including smoking, diabetes, and excessive exposure to sunlight. Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in the world, and affects nearly 20.5 million Americans age 40 and older. By age 80, more than half of all Americans develop cataract. A loss of transparency in the crystalline lens of the eye. In everyday language terms, it is the slow onset of "misty" vision.

There can be a number of causes, but by far the most common is age-related. Clouding of the natural lens of the eye, usually caused by aging in conjunction with other risk factors, such as exposure to the sun's UV rays, smoking, steroid intake and diabetes. Symptoms include blurred vision, glare, halos around lights, colors that are less bright, a cloudy spot in your vision and, sometimes, temporary vision improvement. Read more about cataracts and cataract surgery. If the cataract is impinging on your everyday life, your optometrist can refer you straight to an ophthalmologist Clouding of the lens of the eye. In people with diabetes, this condition is sometimes referred to as "sugar cataract." [HyperBiology] . Cataract is an opacity (unclear) of the lens of the eye causing severe visual impairment .

Cause of Cataract

Some commmonly causes of Cataract follows :

• Although researchers are learning more about cataracts, no one knows for sure what causes them. There may be several causes and some studies have linked smoking, excessive exposure to sunlight and poor diet with cataract development. Sometimes cataracts are caused by other health problems such as diabetes.
• Many studies suggest that exposure to ultraviolet light is associated with cataract development, so eyecare practitioners recommend wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat to lessen your exposure. Other types of radiation may also be causes. For example, a 2005 study conducted in Iceland suggests that airline pilots have a higher risk of developing nuclear cataract than non-pilots, and that the cause may be exposure to cosmic radiation. A similar theory suggests that astronauts, too, are at risk from cosmic radiation.

Symptoms of Cataract

Some symptoms of Cataract follows :

• A painless blurring of vision;
• Glare, or light sensitivity;
• Poor night vision;
• Double vision in one eye;
• Needing brighter light to read;
• Fading or yellowing of colors.
• Difficulty in telling the difference between colours, especially shades of blue
• Frequent changes in glasses prescription as eyesight deteriorates.
• Second sight - your close-up vision and reading may improve temporarily as the lens changes shape

Treatment of Cataract

Some treatment of Cataract:

• Think about surgery when your cataracts have progressed enough to seriously impair your vision and affect your daily life. Many people consider poor vision an inevitable fact of aging, but cataract surgery is a simple, relatively painless procedure to regain vision.
• Cataract surgery is very successful in restoring vision. In fact, it is the most frequently performed surgery in the United States, with over 1.5 million cataract surgeries done each year. Nine out of 10 people who have cataract surgery regain very good vision, somewhere between 20/20 and 20/40.
• The most effective treatment for cataract is an operation to remove the cloudy lens. However, a good diet (see nutrition and the eye page) may help to slow the growth of age-related cataract.
• Protection from excessive sunlight may help slow the progression of cataracts. Sunglasses that screen out ultraviolet (UV) light rays or regular eyeglasses with a clear, anti-UV coating offer this protection.

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