What is a cataract? Cataracts are cloudy, little white deposits that build upon the front of your eye, behind the lens. They can be caused by bad nutrition, dry air, excessive exposure to UV rays, or even hereditary.
Cataracts are common in older adults and often cause blurry vision. Cataract surgery removes the cloudy, cataract-affected lens with either a small laser or surgical incision, replacing it with what’s called an IOL.
IOLs are tiny artificial lenses that actually can function just like natural ones without affecting your vision in any way. So, is cataract surgery right for you? There are three types of cataracts. Primary, cataracts happen when the lens inside the eye doesn’t clear as the result of regular blinking or squinting.
They are the least dangerous because they are not permanent. Secondary cataracts happen when the IOL starts to leak through the bottom of the lens, compromising the eye. And, thirdly, tertiary or secondary cataracts are the result of aging and begin to grow around the perimeter of the lens, impairing your vision.
Cataract surgery may be required for primary and secondary. The risk of complications is very high, but there are ways to prevent them. First, you should get plenty of sleep. One very important reason that causes cataracts in older adults is inadequate sleep.
Taking a nap in between naps is a great way to ensure that you’re getting at least eight hours of quality sleep per night. Some other things that can cause cataracts include diabetes, kidney disease, smoking, vitamin A deficiency, alcoholism, viral infections, and poor diet.
Cataracts usually develop gradually, so you can have blurred vision along with the issue of cataracts. Blurry vision doesn’t always mean cataracts, though. If you’re getting up to go pee in the middle of the night and suddenly you can’t see well enough to go in, chances are you have dry eye syndrome and don’t need to have your eyes checked out.
Dry eye syndrome is another common cause of blurred vision. The next question is: how do you perform cataract surgery? The only real option is to have the IOL’s attached to the front of the lens in a special package. This package keeps the IOL from leaking out on the sides. After the cataract surgery, the doctor will place a new, hard contact lens on top of the IOL package.
After cataract surgery, you might have some lingering side effects, such as redness, dryness, and itching around the IOL. These side effects usually go away after about a week or two. You also may experience some minor drainage problems around the lens area.
You may notice that your vision has slightly improved. It’s important to note that these side effects will disappear as your eyes heal and your vision takes on a normal course again. Before you schedule your cataract surgery make sure you understand all of these possible side effects.
The IOL is the most important part of cataract surgery. If your IOL doesn’t fit into the eye, then you’ll need to get fitted for IOL’s that extend outward. These are typically made from plastic and have a little ring for the eye to fit over.
A small tube called a catheter is inserted through the opening in the IOL, so doctors can measure the inside of the IOL. If you have severe enough cataracts, your doctor may decide to remove the entire IOL instead of just the lens.
This not only increases the chance of better results with your cataract surgery but also makes it easier to insert a new lens for future vision correction. The IOL and its lens are removed and sutured to keep the lens in place during the recovery period.
A small amount of silicone might be injected into the eye to help it remain comfortable. It’s recommended to stay away from glasses or contact lenses during this time. While you are waiting for your cataract surgery, there are going to be some possible complications that could happen.
You should make sure that you don’t have any of these: allergic reactions, fainting, anesthetic reaction, blood in the urine, or stools, pain, blurred vision, vomiting, or weakness. It is important to call your doctor if you experience any of those symptoms. He will need to perform an eye exam to rule out any underlying disease causing these symptoms.
There is a great deal of research being done on how best to treat cataracts. New treatments are being discovered that can help improve the health and quality of life of those who suffer from this disease.
The use of a special lens called a toric contact lens offers some hope for those suffering from this eye disorder. Research is continuing into better ways to treat and prevent cataracts in addition to offering solutions for those who already have the problem. You can get clear vision when you decide to talk with specialists at lceyes.com. They will most definitely know which particular procedure and treatment is best for you.
