What is Cataract?

Cataract is when the lens inside the eyes which is typically clear becomes cloudy, creating unclear vision. It can occur in one or both eyes. Depending on the size of the area that is affected by cataracts, it could block your vision and cause either partial or total blindness when left untreated.

The eye lens which normally directs light to one spot tends to scatter the light inside the pupil of those who are experiencing cataract. This is caused by the clouding of the pupil which makes your vision look blurry or faded (Debrowski & Kelly, 2023).

According to Liu et al. (2017), cataract is the leading cause of blindness in middle-income and low-income countries with an estimate of 95 million people being affected worldwide. Therefore, it is important to identify cataracts at an early stage and provide the necessary treatment so that individuals may live a higher quality of life.

Symptoms of Cataracts

Cataracts in eye can be identified through the following symptoms experienced by the individual:

• Clouded, blurred, or dim vision.
• Need for brighter light for reading and other activities.
• Trouble seeing in sunlight or bright lights.
• Trouble seeing at night.
• Halos or starbursts around lights at night.
• Frequent changes in eyeglass or contact lens prescription.
• Fading or yellowing of colors.
• Double vision in one eye.

Source: (Mayo Clinic, 2023).

Causes and Risk Factors of Cataracts

The prevalence of cataract induced blindness and/or visual impairments increase with age (Brian & Taylor, 2001). Certain factors can speed up the process of developing cataract in eyes such as:

• People in your immediate family have had cataracts
• Smoking
• Diabetes
• Not wearing sunglasses with complete UV protection in the sun.
• Past eye injuries
• Previously conducted eye surgeries
• Radiation or chemotherapy treatments
• Prolonged use of steroid medicine
• Obesity
• Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol

Source: (Debrowski & Kelly, 2023; Mayo Clinic, 2023).

Therefore, by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, it is possible to prevent or slow down the development of cataracts in your eyes.

Treatments for Cataract

The only available treatment for cataracts is cataract surgery. It is one of the most common procedures conducted and is generally considered as a safe and effective procedure.

References

Brian, G., & Taylor, H. (2001). Cataract blindness: Challenges for the 21st century. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. SciELO Public Health. https://www.scielosp.org/article/bwho/2001.v79n3/249-256/en/

Debrowski, A., & Kelly, S. (2023). Cataracts. Allaboutvision.Com. https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/cataracts/overview-of-cataract/

Liu, Y.-C., Wilkins, M., Kim, T., Malyugin, B., & Mehta, J. S. (2017). Cataracts. The Lancet, 390(10094), 600–612. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(17)30544-5

Mayo Clinic . (2023). Cataracts - symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cataracts/symptoms-causes/syc-20353790