Cataracts

What?

A cataract is a cloudy or opaque region of the normally transparent lens in the eye. This condition affects 20 million people worldwide.

What are the different types of cataracts?

• The most common clouding of the lens occurs in the nucleus. Typically this nuclear cataract is found in older people. The lens gradually grows cloudy as the person ages. When the opaque area increases, it prevents light rays from passing through the lens to focus on the retina, the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.
• There is also a cortical cataract that affects the lens cortex. These opacities originate on the outside edges of the lens and seem like wedge-shaped spokes of a bicycle. When they gradually extend toward the center of the lens, they interfere with the path of light and significantly effect both near and distance vision. People who have diabetes tend to develop these types of cataracts.
• Finally, subcapsular cataracts start to develop as small opacities at the back of the lens. They are also associated with diabetes. They start to affect vision when they have grown quite significantly. Sometimes when people have to use drops like corticosteroids in their eyes to treat inflammation, the active ingredient in these drops can cause the proteins to become cloudy.
• Traumatic cataracts form in the back of the cortex and lead to progressive loss of vision. When a sharp object punctures the eye and comes in contact with the lens capsule, the lens totally opacifies either immediately or at some later time.
• Babies born with cataracts have what is called congenital cataracts. They occur most often when the mom has some sort of infection, like rubella, or sometimes other family members also have cataracts and the baby gets them because of a genetic link.
• Induced cataracts are caused by the environment.

Why?

Cataracts may be caused by aging, eye injuries, exposure to harmful sunrays or chemicals, being hit in the eye, and a poor diet.

What are the symptoms?

Typically the person experiences blurred vision, glare, increased nearsightedness, and distortion of images that they see in either eye.