What Causes Cataracts?
Cataracts are a common eye problem that occurs as you age, they happen to the majority of us. Even your pets experience cataracts as they age, you might recognize them when their eyes start to turn a murky cloudy gray as they reach their golden years. We know they make it difficult to see but what exactly causes them and what are the signs they are forming in our own eyes? Let’s take a look at how they form over time.
Everyone’s eyes have a clear lens that is right behind the pupil. This lens filters the light that comes in. It is made up of proteins and over time that protein can have build up that starts to cloud the lens. When too much protein clumps together, your eyesight can become cloudy, blurry, or even cause double vision. This is a slow process that reduces the amount of light coming in all together. Often you won’t notice it until you realize you are squinting more, having a hard time reading small text, or even noticing a glare in the sun or at nighttime when other peoples headlights start to bother you while driving.
These are some of the early signs of cataracts:
Frequent prescription changes: Each year when you have your exam your prescription typically should remain about the same. If you have started to notice over the years that things are getting worse each time you go, this can be a sign that the cataracts are forming.
Corrective lens just aren’t working like they used to: This is similar to the first point. When the lenses in your eye glasses or contacts seen to be less and less affective at getting that crisp clear vision, that protein may be building up causing cataracts. This is often experienced as blurry, foggy, cloudy, or even double vision.
Glare or halos from light: As mentioned above, if you are having problems with glare from the sun during the day or from headlights on cars at night this is a tell tale sign your lenses are getting cloudy behind your pupil. Bright light bulbs can also have a halo effect that just hurts to look at. Any light sensitivity should be mentioned to your Doctor.
Changes in Colors: Since this lens was once clear and is now forming a cloudiness, colors can appear to be more dim, yellow, or dull. The vibrancy can become diluted like constantly being in a cloudy day.
This is why it is so important to have your yearly eye exam even when you don’t think anything has changed. Early detection, as with anything, can have the greatest impact on corrective measures. There are a few different types of cataracts which can cause different experiences and require specific treatments. What may not be as surprising is that each eye can have a different progression of the cataracts, thus giving you different vision and/or symptoms per eye. A quick self test you can do is to cover one eye with you hand and then compare what you see with each eye. This often works best with your corrective lenses on to really see the difference.
The good news is that there are treatments to correct this issue! When you decide it is time to have your cataract removed with cataract surgery, your Perich Eye surgeon will perform an operation to remove the lens of your eye that has become cloudy and replace it with a clear artificial lens. The new lens is called an intraocular lens. It is very affective and a common surgery to do. Most health insurance plans, including Medicare, often cover the cost of this surgery as well.
