Cataract is clouding of clear natural lens present inside the eye, this is a major cause of decreased vision in elderly. Cataracts can occur in one or both eyes, usually developing very slowly. Things look blurry, hazy, less colourful and less sharp with cataract. 

Most cataracts are related to ageing, however many other factors can either increase the rate of formation or cause cataract formation. 

Causes of Cataract Formation-

Ageing: Most common cause. As the proteins present in the lens of the eye degenerates over the years ( just like any other organ) cataract is formed. If you are having Diabetes or hypertension, the rate of formation gets accelerated.

Radiation: Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays, especially UV-B rays, results in cataract in your eyes. Wearing sunglasses in the daytime helps in slowing down the process of cataract.

Genes: Many genetic disorders can result in congenital cataract ( cataracts present since birth) or early formation. Like in Lowe syndrome or Down's syndrome. 

Lifestyle Choices: Cigarette smoking, long hours of sun exposure regularly, antioxidant, poor diet etc. are responsible for the onset of cataract.

How To Detect Cataract?

Certain signs and symptoms suggest the existence of cataract in the eye. Depending on the type and level of cataract, problems in vision occurs. The main symptom is foggy cloudy vision as if seeing through a dirty glass window. 

Other Symptoms are- 

inability to see clearly in bright light (during the day) which becomes better in dim light ( evening and night) and vice versa. 
watery, tired eyes - mild pain in and around eyes. 
yellow tinge in vision 
Halos around light bulbs or bright light. 
If you are experiencing above symptoms and having problems in viewing things clearly, visit an ophthalmologist and get your eyes checked.

Foggy and Cloudy Vision - A Sign Of Cataract?

Blurred vision is most often a sign that you need corrective spectacles for near sightedness, far sightedness or astigmatism but it could also be a sign of a bigger problem including eye diseases or neurological problems. Blurred vision involves the loss of sharpness of vision and objects appearing hazy and out of focus. It can affect one eye or both eyes simultaneously.

Whatever be your age, it is a good idea to consult a doctor as you begin to experience a blurred vision. To measure the extent of your vision problem, a doctor will do a comprehensive eye examination including spatial contrast sensitivity and a standard eye chart test. Some of the factors that trigger blurred vision are:

1. Myopia or nearsightedness
2. Hypermetropia or farsightedness
3. Astigmatism caused by an irregularly shaped cornea
4. Presbyopia - the diminished ability to focus on objects due to the hardening of the lens in the eye
5. Dry eyes or the lack of lubrication on the surface of the eyes
6. Hormonal changes during pregnancy
7. Migraine headaches
8. Temporary floaters in the eye formed by the liquefying of the gel in the eyes
9. After effects of lasik surgery
10. Eye drops or medication
11. Overuse of contact lenses
12. Diabetes

Blurred vision can also be a symptom of a serious condition such as cataract, glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and cardiovascular diseases.

Treatment for blurred vision depends on the factors triggering it. Wearing corrective glasses can cure blurred vision caused by myopia, hypermetropia and astigmatism. These conditions can also be treated by lasik surgery. For blurred vision related to diabetes, check your blood sugar and get it into its optimal range.

Exercises for the eye muscles can also help sharpen vision and lower the rate of eye muscle degeneration. Some of these exercises are:

1. Alternately focus on an object close to you and another far from you for ten seconds each.
2. Blink your eyes and hold for two seconds
3. Roll your eyes clockwise and anticlockwise. Repeat 15-20 times.
4. Rub your palms together to generate heat and place over your eyes to relax them.

A healthy diet with plenty of vitamin a can help keep your eyes healthy and prevent blurring of vision. Wearing sunglasses can also protect your eyes from harmful uv radiation and lower their rate of wear and tear. Lastly avoid reading in moving vehicles and holding a book too close to your face.

Is Your Vision Blurry? What Should You Do?

Cataract can be defined as the clouding of the natural lenses in the eyes. This is caused by the clumping of protein in the eye lens. Cataract is a common eye disorder and the leading cause of loss of vision in people who are past their fortieth birthday. Cataract can occur in one or both eyes. When diagnosed properly, cataract can be treated with surgery to prevent blindness.

Depending on where and how they develop, there are many types of cataract. The most common amongst these are:

1.        Subcapsular cataract

These occur at the back of the eye lens. Diabetic patients are very susceptible to this kind of cataract.

2.        Nuclear cataract

Yellowish-brown cataract that form in the center of the lens are called nuclear cataract. This is usually seen in cataract caused by ageing.

3.        Cortical cataract

Cataract in the lens cortex are known as cortical cataract. These are wedge shaped and whitish in color. Spokes protruding out of these opaque wedges can be seen moving towards the center of the eye.

4.        Congenital cataract

Though they are not common, babies can also have cataract. Cataract formed at birth or within the first year of a baby's birth are known as congenital cataract.

5.        Secondary cataract

Cataract is one of the known side effects of diabetes and glaucoma. Some steroids and medicines are also linked to cataract.

6.        Traumatic cataract

If your vision becomes cloudy years after an eye injury, it could be a traumatic cataract. It can take several years for this to happen.

7.        Radiation cataract

Exposure to radiation can also lead to cataract. This is seen sometimes in patients who have undergone radiation therapy to fight diseases like cancer.

Though the type of cataract might differ from person to person, the symptoms are usually the same. Some of the common symptoms of cataract are:

1. Blurred vision
2. Reduced night vision
3. Increased sensitivity to light and glare
4. Seeing halos around lights
5. Colors appearing faded
6. Double vision

A reading test is the first step towards diagnosing cataracts. This is followed by tests to measure the eye pressure. Your doctor will also need to dilate the pupil to check the condition of the optic nerves and retina.

Surgery is the safest way to remove a cataract. Surgery is usually recommended when cataract begin inhibiting your daily life such as preventing you from driving, interfering with reading etc.
 
In most cases, this can be done as an outpatient procedure. The earlier it is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat. Hence, if you notice any of the symptoms mentioned above, get your eyes checked at once. The surgery is a day-care surgery only, so a person can go home the same day.

Is Your Vision Clouded? It Could Be Cataracts

People may suffer from visual impairment even though their eyes are perfectly normal. Such loss of vision may result from neurological impairment.

Vision is the combination of image formation and perception of various attributes of the image by the brain. When the brain is not able to perceive images or various attributes of images, the patient may suffer from neurological impairment of vision. Such impairment owes its origin to the nervous system.

Causes of Visual Impairment:

There are various areas in the brain that process some or the other attribute of the image that has formed on the retina. Occipital cortex, the area situated at the rear side of the brain is a very important site. It is responsible for processing visual stimuli and allowing people to make an idea about shape, distance, movement, color, etc. The severity of loss of vision depends on the extent and location of damage in the brain.

Neurological loss of vision may result from acquired brain injury, difficulties with visual perception, impairment in coordination of the eyes, etc. All these may stem from damage areas in the brain that are responsible for vision. There are many areas in the brain that are responsible for vision.

These areas can get damaged from various accidents like:

Stroke: If a person suffers a stroke, a part of his or her brain is likely to get damaged due to a haemorrhage or a blocked blood vessel.

Traumatic Brain Injury: A traumatic brain injury such as in a car accident or a violent fall can damage visual perception of the brain.

Infections: Infections such as meningitis attack the brain and may impair various areas of it.

Lack of Oxygen: People may suffer from lack of oxygen if they experience accidents like a near-drowning episode or a heart attack or something else, which has the effect of interrupting blood flow to the brain.

Diseases: Diseases such as brain tumors, multiple sclerosis etc. can precipitate neurological vision loss.

Symptoms of Visual Impairment:

Symptoms of neurological vision loss depend on the type of vision impairment and the location of damage in the brain. It may include:

Blurry vision: In Blurry vision, a person will not see things clearly or may see something in light but find it difficult to see them in dim light.

Double vision: In double vision, the patient sees a single object as two and cannot merge them as one.

Problems with depth perception of objects

Problem with bright light: In this type of problem, a person experiences difficulty seeing an object in a bright light. One may also feel pain or discomfort in the eye in bright light.

Difficulty with interpreting the object the person is looking at

Partial loss in the visual field: In this problem, half of the visual field in each eye is missing.

Treatment of Visual Impairment:

There is hardly any treatment for such vision loss since the rectification of visual acuity is of no help. Depending on the location and degree of neurological impairment, vision may improve over time. Some children with acquired brain injury or impairment in the coordination of the eyes and difficulties with visual perception also tend to improve with age.

Conclusion:

This is a type of vision loss where glasses, contact lenses, surgeries, or eye drops are not going to help. Such vision loss is usually permanent. Children with similar symptoms need to be presented with pictures, bright light, etc., which may help to form an idea about the object.

Visual Impairment Related To Nervous System!

While spectacles are a fashion statement for some people, for others they are an uncomfortable necessity. Though contact lenses may be a little more aesthetically pleasing they too can be quite uncomfortable and cannot be worn throughout the day. Thankfully, there is a third way to correct vision. Laser surgery or LASIK, it is a popular refractive procedure that can correct common vision problems, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. This procedure aims at reshaping the cornea so that light entering the eyes can be focused onto the retina for the person to have a clearer vision. 

Laser surgery is pain-free and quick in most cases. Usually, it does not take more than 15 minutes to correct vision in both eyes. The results of this surgery can be seen in as little as 24 hours. 

The first step of laser surgery to correct vision is to create a thin, circular flap in the cornea. This is then folded back to access the stroma or underlying cornea. An excimer laser is then used to remove some of the corneal tissue. For people suffering from nearsightedness, the cornea is flattened while for people suffering from farsightedness, the cornea is made steeper. In cases of astigmatism, an irregular cornea is smoothened. Once the correct gradient has been achieved the corneal flap is put back into place and the cornea is allowed to heal naturally. There are no stitches or bandages required in a laser eye surgery. You may feel a temporary burning or itching sensation in your eyes immediately after the procedure. It is important not to rub your eyes or place any pressure on them. Your vision may also be cloudy or blurred for the first few hours. A doctor will usually advise you to rest for a few days after the surgery so that your cornea can heal properly. In a few days, your eyesight should stabilize, though, in a few rare cases, it may take a little longer. You should also avoid any form of strenuous exercising for a few days after the surgery. 

Though LASIK surgery has a very high success rate, there are very rare occasions where spectacles may still be needed even after the surgery. Thus LASIK is a choice of treatment for many who seek freedom from glasses.

LASIK - Say No to Boring Glasses! 

A person is said to have great vision more in the metaphorical way than in the literal sense. However, having both is just so important, especially as the ability to see reduces as a person gets older. Old age comes with its own set of problems, and vision loss is one of them. If kept in check from an early age, however, vision loss can be deferred indefinitely.

While a person's eyesight is likely to deteriorate over the course of his life, there is a lot which can be done in an effort to make sure that this is not the case. To start with, it makes good sense to be regular with eye check-ups. After a person attains the age of sixty, he or she should have a doctor take a look at his or her eyes on a yearly basis. There is no point trying to conserve eye sight if a person is too late in taking corrective action. By paying a visit to the ophthalmologist, a person will get to know the exact problem that he is suffering from.

A good diet which is rich in the nutrients which improve a person's eye sight does go a very long way in the long run. A person should make sure that is diverse enough to take care of the needs of a person and should include grapefruit, strawberries as well as berries and nuts.

One of the main things which can be done in order to preserve the health of a person's eyes until he or she reaches an advanced age is to stop smoking in all forms. As a matter of fact, tobacco leads to cyanide entering the blood stream and this does a lot of damage to the eyes. In fact, quite a few irreversible conditions of the eye are caused due to this.

Exercise is said to be good for a person at any age for a variety of reasons and it is really good for even the eyes, though the link may not be immediately so clear. It reduces the risk of age related degeneration by up to 70 per cent!

What is really interesting about a person's eyes is that they can be signs of trouble in other parts of the body. For example, if a person has blurry vision, they should get checked for diabetes. Also, eyes which do not produce enough natural lubrication can show a risk of rheumatoid arthritis and perhaps even thyroid disease.

All in all, a person's eyesight is so crucial to his or her overall health and wellbeing. We have only one pair of eyes, so we might as well take care of them!

Tips to Prevent Vision Loss in Elderly People

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