​Seniors Matter(s): Cataracts!

Like much of my research, it begins when I am confronted by a new challenge.

This time it was cataracts. I thought, oh boy, here we go again.

I was amazed how simple and painless the procedure was. I was expecting a lengthy convalescence yet was able to drive later the same day!

I learned a cataract is a progressive, painless clouding of the natural, internal lens of the eye. Cataracts block light, making it difficult to see clearly. Over an extended period, cataracts can cause blindness. They're often related to growing older, but sometimes they can develop in younger people.

In a normal eye, light enters and passes through the lens. The lens focuses that light into a sharp image on the retina, which relays messages through the optic nerve to the brain. If the lens is cloudy from a cataract, the image you see will be blurry.

Other eye conditions, such as myopia, cause blurry vision, too, but cataracts produce some distinctive signs and symptoms.

Most cataracts are related to aging. More than half of people over age 65 have cataracts. For many, it goes on so slowly, like loss of hearing, that it isn’t noticed.

Babies are sometimes born with cataracts, also called congenital cataracts, or children may develop them because of injury or illness. Exposure to Ultraviolet (UV) light can also increase the risk of cataracts and other eye conditions.

The exact cause of cataracts is unknown. While the risk grows as you get older, these factors may also contribute:
 

• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Excess alcohol use
• Eye Injury
• Prolonged use of corticosteroids
• Prolonged exposure to sunlight or radiation

My cataracts were discovered early during my biannual eye exams. My optometrist warned that my eyes were getting worse and that sometime soon, the cataracts must be addressed. He tested my eyes with a slit lamp microscope to look for problems with the lens and other parts of the eye. The pupils were dilated to better examine the back of the eye, where the retina and optic nerve lie.

I noticed blurry vision at distances which is the most common symptom of cataracts. Your view may look foggy, filmy, or cloudy. People with cataracts may have an especially hard time seeing and driving at night.

With cataracts, images can appear double even with just one eye open.

Cataracts can affect your colour vision, making some hues look faded. Your vision may gradually take on a brownish or yellowish tinge. At first, you may not notice this discoloration. But over time, it may make it harder to distinguish blues and purples.

I experienced the phenomena that a cataract may temporarily improve a person’s ability to see close-up, because the cataract acts as a stronger lens. Unfortunately, as time passed, this went away, and my vision worsened again.

Finally, I had frequent changes to my eyeglasses meaning they are getting worse over time.

This was when my research got serious. I learned that I was going to sit in a chair, have my eyes given a bit of local freezing
through eye drops and sit there while the doctor performed the procedure.

In cataract surgery, the cloudy lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens. The surgery, which is done on an outpatient basis, is safe and extremely effective at improving vision. The doctor makes a tiny incision in the eye and breaks up the lens using ultrasonic waves. The lens is removed by a small incision, and an intraocular lens is put in its place.

WHAT? I am expected to just sit there? No way! Yes way, it was quick, and entirely painless, as I stared at some bright light for three minutes, could not sense anything being done, and left 15 minutes later. WOW!

For a few days, my eye was itchy and sensitive to light. I was prescribed drops to aid healing.

Whether or not to have cataract surgery is up to you and your doctor. Rarely, cataracts need to be removed right away, but this isn’t usually the case. Cataracts affect vision slowly over time, so many people wait to have surgery until glasses or contacts no longer improve their vision enough. If you don’t feel that your cataracts are causing problems in your day-to-day life, you may choose to wait.

Two months later, I had my other eye done, and I have enjoyed improved sight since.

Just another bump on the road called the Golden Ages.

‘Till next time!