Eye Cataracts - Causes, Symptoms, Removal and Treatments
A cataract is a condition is which blindness gradually sets in due a slow change in the consistency of the lens of the eye. This is a condition that could happen due to some kind of genetic defect or predisposition to cataracts in a family line or due to a congenital defect, when one is born with a cataract. When it occurs in the absence of any of the above factors, it is believed that the problem is caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet light and other severe exposures to the visible light spectrum. The only way to treat a cataract is to wait for the cataract to qualify as ready for surgery and then perform a procedure to remove the lens from the eye and replace it with a plastic lens.
Cataract Surgery and Morgagnian Cataract
Cataract surgery is one of the oldest forms of surgery that have conducted in the ancient medical world. These surgeries involved, just like today, the removal of the lens. Unfortunately, since there was no plastic developed during the time, a cataract removal surgery didn’t really improve the life of the patient. The exact reasons for cataracts to develop have been said to be the same as the graying of the hair – it is a completely natural part of the degradation of the body after a certain age, which culminates in blindness until death. Cataracts sometimes have a tendency to liquefy into a form of a cataract called the Morgagnian cataract. This cataract will cause severe inflammation that will lead to glaucoma or the destruction of the retinal nerves. There is prevention against a cataract that has officially been proved to be effective though a large part of the consensus in the medical community is that exposure to radiation is a cause. To this effect, it is advised that all those who are in environments of high ultraviolet radiation, should wear protective glasses. It was also shown that airline pilots are especially susceptible to this problem due to exposure to the sun at the altitudes that they fly at. Since a cataract is caused by oxidative stress, one would assume that taking antioxidants like vitamin E and C would be of great use but unfortunately, there has been no evidence to prove this.
The only way to deal with a cataract is to identify it as soon as possible. If one experiences a halo effect on looking at a light at night from one eye, this is one of the earliest signs of a cataract developing. Surgery is a complex procedure but mostly done only under local anesthetic. An incision is made in the cornea and the lens is then extracted, with a plastic replacement inserted.
