Coping with Cataracts
You are getting older and more importantly, so are your eyes. Your once sharp vision is becoming cloudier by the minute. You may have cataracts to thank for that.
Cataracts describes how the lens of your eye which is usually clear becomes cloudy with age. Cataract is a very common condition among older adults. About half of adults age 80 and older have had cataracts. Although rare, cataracts can even occur in babies due to a birth defect.
According to the National Eye Institute, the number of cataract cases rose from 20.5 million people to 24.4 million people in the United States between 2000 to 2010. In fact, by 2050, the number of people with cataract is expected to double from 24.4 million to about 50 million with the majority of cases affecting white Americans. The condition is more prevalent in women than men.
You can get cataracts in both eyes but usually the condition is more pronounced in one eye compared to the other. Cataracts tends to run in families. The condition is prominent among smokers.
Normally, the lens of your eye is mostly water and protein. As the protein breaks down over time, they hang around your eye. The lingering proteins can make your lens cloudy, so it’s hard to see clearly. Factors that can speed up the formation of cataracts include diabetes; steroids (common medications to treat arthritis and lupus); phenothiazine drugs such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), used to treat a variety of conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; eye surgery or eye injury; radiation treatment to your upper body; and spending a lot of time outdoors without the proper eye protection like sunglasses.
Common symptoms associated with cataracts are vision that is cloudy or blurry, sensitivity to bright sunlight, lamps or headlights, glare where you see a halo around objects when you drive at night, double vision, prescription changes in glasses, difficulty seeing at night, changes in the way you see color, and needing a brighter light to read.
There is no routine eye test for cataracts. But your doctor may run several types of tests including a visual acuity test, a slit-lamp examination, retinal exam, and an applanation tonometry (measures fluid pressure in the eye). Once cataracts slowly starts disintegrating normal vision, the only step is surgery. But if your symptoms start off mild, your doctor may suggest contacts or glasses initially.
When you can’t function normally (i.e. it is difficult to drive or read) surgery might be your best option. Sometimes people need cataract surgery to see and treat other eye conditions, such as age-related changes in the retina (tissue at the back of the eye) or diabetic retinopathy.
But at some point, based on your severity, your ophthalmologist will recommend you have surgery. During cataract surgery, the surgeon removes the clouded lens and replaces it with an artificial lens implant. The whole procedure takes about an hour and it is done with local anesthesia (medication to numb a specific area).
There are two types of procedures to remove cataracts: phacoemulsification cataract surgery and extracapsular cataract surgery. Phacoemulsification is the most common type of procedure for cataracts. Your ophthalmologist makes a small opening in the eye to reach the clouded lens. Using high frequency sound waves (ultrasound) or a laser, your surgeon breaks the lens into pieces. Your ophthalmologist will then suction the lens fragments from your eye and put in a new plastic lens.
The extracapsular procedure is recommended if phacoemulsification is not the best option for you. For this surgery, your ophthalmologist will make a larger opening in the eye. Instead of breaking up the lens, your doctor will remove the lens in one piece. Then the surgeon inserts the manufactured lens.
After surgery, for a brief time, be prepared to feel itchy eyes, blurry vision, mild discomfort, and sensitivity to light. You may need to use eye drops for a few weeks after surgery to prevent infection, heal, and control the pressure inside your eye. It should take about eight weeks to fully heal from the surgery. It is important to note that cataract surgery is one of the most frequently performed surgeries in the United States and is relatively safe.
Preventative measures you can take to avoid cataracts include quit smoking, wear sun protection like a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, and get regular eye care by having your eyes dilated once every two years after turning 60.
In rare cases, you may develop a secondary cataract. Cloudiness builds on the surface of the artificial lens weeks, months, or years after surgery. It is fixed with a quick laser surgery called posterior capsulotomy. It only takes five minutes. Your ophthalmologist makes an opening in the lens to let light in again. Your sight should improve within 24 hours.
Cataracts are a common part of the aging process. But it doesn’t have to rule your life. Cataract surgery is one of the most routine procedures in the U.S. Talk to your doctor as soon as possible if you suffer from cataracts.
