CATARACTS

The ocular cataract is the opacity that forms inside the ocular lens. The crystalline lens is a capsule located inside the eyeball and is responsible for forming the image on the retina. The light coming from the outside is refracted through the structures that form the eyeball to finally reach the retina and produce the image. When the crystalline lens becomes opaque, the light is not refracted well and does not focus on the retina and can generate blurred vision, eyestrain etc. Cataracts is a type of disease that arises in advanced ages and is something completely natural. Aging is the main factor for this reason, we say that it is a completely natural phenomenon.

CAUSES

At older ages the crystalline lens cells do not regenerate as quickly as when a young eye does (it is not the same for a 20 year old eye than for a 60 year old eye).As the lens does not regenerate quickly, cells accumulate on top of each other and form opacities inside the normally transparent lens, but there may be several causes:

• Aging, mentioned above
• Radiation treatments that cause opacity in the lens.
• Medication that accelerates the aging of the lens.
• Congenital cataracts: these are cataracts that are present at birth.

SYMPTOMS

The opacity produced by the cells hinders people’s vision and causes them to see a cloth in front of their eyes that reduces visual acuity:

• Reduces visual acuity: one of the most frequent symptoms is the vision of a tel in front of the eyes that does not allow to see clearly.
• Blurred vision
• photophobia: light either during the day or at night causes discomfort.
• difficulty to see well the contrasts of colors.

TREATMENT

The only treatment that exists to eliminate the cataract is surgery. The surgery is performed under local anesthesia to replace the opaque crystalline lens with an intraocular lens that replaces it and allows clear vision. If there is only a beginning of cataract and the symptomatology is very severe, most of the time it can be fixed with prescription glasses, this can be confirmed with the optometrist in the optician’s office.

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