KNOWING CATARACT
Cataract is the opacification of the lens, which located in the eye, behind the iris.
Cataract causes progressive eyesight loss until possibly total blindness.
Cataract is common after the age of 55.
The lens is naturally transparent. Its loss of transparency or opacification prevents light from passing through correctly. Vision becomes blurry.
Cataract is caracterized by distinctive visual symptoms:
– Blurred vision (mostly remote vision)
– Lessened colour and contrast perception
– Double vision
– Light can cause discomfort
TREATING CATARACT
Cataract is related to lens opacification leading to progressive eysesight loss. Only surgery can improve eysesight.
Besides surgery, no treatment can really improve an eysight altered by cataract.
Surgery consists in removing the lens and replace it with an intra ocular implant. The technique is based on the use of ultrasounds, it is called phacoemulsification.
CONCLUSION
Cataract is common among senior citizens. It affects 1 out of 5 people after the age of 65 and 2 out of 3 after 85.
The only effective cataract treatment known today is surgery.