If your vision has grown fuzzy or cloudy after the age of 60, you may get cataracts. It’s a typical
issue among the elderly, and your eye doctor can assist you.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms?
Cataracts typically develop over time. They may go undetected until the light is obstructed. Then
you might notice:
● A cloudy, fuzzy, foggy, or filmy vision
● Irregularities (in older people)
● Changes in your perception of colour
● Nighttime driving issues (glare from oncoming headlights, for example)
● Glare problems during the day
● In the damaged eye, there is double vision.
● Eyeglasses or contact lenses that aren’t operating properly
Causes and Types of Cataracts
Protein deposits in your eye’s lens, clouding it and creating cataracts. This makes it impossible
for clear light to flow through. It has the potential to cause eyesight loss in some people.
Atomic cataracts
The most frequent type of cataract, also known as a nuclear sclerotic cataract, is the most
common. If you live long enough, you’ll ultimately get one.
They form in the lens’ nucleus, which is located in the centre. As your reading vision
deteriorates, it may improve. It’s called second sight, but it’s just for a short time.
Over time, the lens hardens, turning yellow or even brown. At night, little details become
difficult to see, colours fade, and halos emerge around brilliant objects.
Cataracts of the cortex
The cortex, which is located on the outside edge of your lens, is where these take shape. As they
develop, they scatter light.
The most prevalent symptom is glare. Driving at night can be challenging. Differentiating
between similar hues or determining how far away an object is sometimes difficult.
You should have them removed as quickly as possible because they might cause close and
distance vision issues.
Cataracts of the posterior subcapsular lens
These grow directly behind the lens capsule, which is the part of your eye that surrounds and
holds the lens in place. They are obstructing the passage of light through the lens.
They progress more quickly than other types of cataracts, and symptoms might arise within
months. They weaken your close-up vision and make it more difficult to see in bright light.
Cataracts of the anterior subcapsular lens
This type develops just inside the lens capsule’s front. One can be caused by an injury or
swelling in the eye. Atopic dermatitis, a kind of eczema, can also cause this.
Cataracts from birth
Cataracts can be present at birth or develop later in life. Some are caused by your genes, while
others, such as rubella, are caused by a sickness your mother contracted while pregnant.
When they’re little or outside the lens’s centre, they may not require treatment. If a newborn is
born with one that inhibits vision, the doctor must remove it since it can impede the eye from
learning to see.
Cataracts from trauma
Cataracts can be caused by a variety of injuries. If you were hit in the eye by a ball or were
harmed by a burn, chemical, or splinter, you may be eligible for one. The cataract may develop
right after the accident or years later.
Cataracts that develop later in life
Doctors refer to cataracts that develop due to another condition or medical treatment. Diabetes,
prednisone use and even cataract surgery are all probable causes.
Cataracts from radiation
You may be aware that the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation is harmful to your skin, but it can also
affect your eyes. If you spend too much time in the sun without wearing eye protection, you may
get cataracts.
Cataracts in the posterior polar region
These appear in the back centre of your lens and are frequently caused by genes passed down via
your family.
Because posterior polar cataracts are challenging to remove, they rarely produce symptoms.
● Cataracts in the anterior polar region
● They appear as little white spots on the front and centre of your lens.
● Cataracts after vitrectomy
Vitrectomy is a procedure that removes the vitreous gel from the centre of your eye. The system
can help with some eye disorders, but it can also cause cataracts.
Cataracts in Christmas trees
Polychromatic cataracts generate gleaming, multicoloured crystals in your lens. They’re most
common in persons who have myotonic dystrophy, a muscle disease.
Cataracts with a rosy hue
If a nuclear cataract is not treated, it will become extremely complicated and brown. The term for
this is brunescent.
It’s tough to tell the difference in colours, especially blues and purples. Having surgery to remove
it is more difficult, time-consuming, and hazardous than receiving treatment sooner.
Diabetics with snowflake cataracts
This uncommon type of cataract can occur if you have diabetes. It quickly deteriorates, forming
a snowflake-like grey-white pattern.
Cataracts: What Are the Signs and Symptoms?
To decide if you have cataracts, your doctor will need to know all of your symptoms. They’ll
carefully inspect your eyes and do tests such as:
● Visual acuity testing “Eye chart examination” is a fancy word for “eye chart
examination.” Your doctor will ask you to read letters from a distance to establish how
acute your eyesight is. You’ll begin by practising with one eye, then the other. They might
then do a glare test on you, which involves shining a bright light into your eye and asking
you to see the letters.
● Slit-lamp examination: Your doctor will examine several areas of your eye with a
sophisticated microscope and a strong light. Your cornea, or the clear outer layer of your
eye, will be examined. They’ll also examine your iris, the coloured part of your eye, as
well as the lens that sits behind it. The lens bends the light as it enters your eye, allowing
you to see clearly.
● Retinal examination To dilate your pupils, which are the dark patches in the middle of
your eyes that determine how much light gets in, your doctor will use drops. This allows
them to see the retina (the tissue around the back of your eyes) and the cataract more
clearly.
What is the Procedure?
Surgery is the only way to repair cataracts, however, you may not need it immediately away. If
you catch the problem early enough, you might be able to get by with a fresh prescription for
your glasses. A stronger lens might improve your vision for a brief period of time.
Cataract removal surgery
Cataract procedures come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they all include your surgeon
removing the clouded lens and replacing it with an artificial one.
You may be hesitant to have an operation in such a delicate location as your eye. Nonetheless, it
is a rather regular surgery. You’ll be given a medicine called local anaesthetic to numb your eye.
You’ll be awake yet drowsy.
● Minimally invasive surgery is a type of surgery that is performed with the least amount
Another term your doctor might use is phacoemulsification. Your surgeon slices your
cornea in a microscopic way. Your eye is implanted with a small device that emits
ultrasonic waves that break up the cloudiness in your lens. The shards are then removed
and replaced with an artificial lens.
● A huge incision is required for surgery. This isn’t done very often, but if the cataract is
large and causes more vision problems than usual, doctors may consider it. Extracapsular
cataract extraction is a different scenario. Your cloudy lens is completely removed and
replaced with an artificial lens by your surgeon. This operation will probably take a little
longer to recover than the one with a little incision.
● Using femtosecond lasers for surgery. During this operation, your surgeon will use a laser
to break apart the lens. They’ll then replace the lens in the same manner as the other
types. Your doctor may recommend this if you have astigmatism, which is a corneal
curvature that produces cloudy vision. During cataract surgery, your doctor might reshape
your cornea with a laser to treat this issue.
Dr Kamdar Eye Hospital is dedicated to offering our patients professional high-quality services,
as well as a safer environment, a superior experience, and the certainty of living a wonderful life
with a purified vision.