If your vision becomes cloudy or you notice that an eye is not as clear, you need to see your eye disease doctor. Cataracts may be the cause but only a professional will be able to diagnose you. If left unchecked, it can lead to blindness.
What Causes Cataracts?
Most people consider cataracts to be something that affects only older people. While this can be true, injury, past eye surgeries and some inherited genetic disorders can also be the cause. Long term steroid medications have also been identified as causing cataracts.
Cataracts forms on the lens behind your iris. The clear lens focuses light to produce images onto the retina. The lens, which is composed on water and proteins, begins to thicken as we age or experience illness. These proteins being to clump together and make the lens cloudy.
How is Cataracts Treated?
Your eye disease doctor suspects cataracts will conduct several tests to access your situation. These include vision acuity, slit lamp examination and a retinal exam. These let them examine your cornea, iris, lens and retina.
While cataracts are by no means life threatening, if untreated, it can develop into blindness. It will also impact your safety while driving and your ability to see well. Most patients visit their doctor only after they notice that they don’t seem to be able to see as well.
The only treatment for cataracts is surgery. As cataracts progresses slowly, there will be some time to plan for the surgery. Unless you have diabetes, you and your eye disease doctor can procced whenever you both decide to. Cataracts surgery is an out-patient procedure done under a local anesthetic. So, you’ll be home before you know it. The important thing to consider is that it needs to be taken care of when it begins to impact your abilities in daily life, such as reading and driving.
When you go in for surgery, the doctor will remove the clouded lens and replace it with an artificial one called an intraocular lens. This new lens will sit in the same position as your old natural lens. As it heals, it becomes a permanent part of your eye. In some cases, other health problems may prevent the doctor from using an artificial lens. In these instances, eyeglasses and contacts are used to correct the vision.
In the days following the surgery, you’ll experience some slight discomfort. The doctor may give you drops to prevent infection. Over the next eights or so, they will monitor your recovery.
Cataracts is something that affects millions of people. Luckily, the surgery to correct it is fast and safe. So don’t delay. Visit your eye care professional.
Source
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cataracts/symptoms-causes/syc-20353790