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 DEFINITION
The cataract is the loss of trasparencia of the crystalline one. The crystalline one is a transparent lens that we have behind the pupil and that serves to us to focus clearly the objects. For a series of circumstances, illnesses or more often due to the step of the years, the crystalline one can be losing his natural transparence and turn into an opaque lens. Therefore a cataract will be more or less advanced if the transparence decrease is major or minor. Major all that is the loss of transparence of the crystalline one (or more advanced the cataract is) major will be the vision decrease.
CAUSES
- Advanced age
- Diabetes
- Infections or ocular traumatism
- Familiar tendency
The cataracts are a normal part of the aging. Major all that is the person, major is the probability of appearance and progression of the cataracts. Nevertheless there are occasions in which the cataracts appear in more precocious ages, especially in persons who endure certain illnesses as the diabetes, inflammations intraoculares and high myopia between others. Also cataracts can appear after an ocular traumatism or in some predisposed families. Almost three of every four persons older than 75 years suffer from cataracts, most of the persons who have cataracts, have them in two eyes. Nevertheless, one of the eyes can be worse than other, because each of the cataracts develops with different rapidity.
SYMPTOMS
- Loss of vision
- Inconveniences with intense light
- Loss of tones of color
Normally the cataracts are evident for a slow and progressive vision decrease, this one turns out to be cloudy, desenfocada, or as if it saw across a veil, and that it does not improve on having changed glasses. This vision decrease is usually more accused in certain luminosity ambiences, for example in the darkness and with light foci, driving problems are had since the lights dazzle him, or with solar intense solar light. Also the tonality of the colors gets lost.
DIAGNOSIS
A regular examination of his sight is quite what is needed to find the cataracts. His ophthalmologist will ask him to read a diagram with letters to determine as his sight is. Probably drops will put him in the eyes to enlarge the pupils (the black circles in the middle of his eye). To do this allows to the doctor to see inside his eyes. Using a brilliant light, the doctor can see if the lenses are transparent, and can look for other problems in the interior part of the eyes.
There exist other examinations that can be realized occasionally to verify all that affects him the cataract to his sight, and to be able to have a reference to evaluate the improvement after a cataract intervention:
- Examination of brilliant light.
- Examination of perception of contrasts.
- Examination of potential vision.
- Microscopic photo examination to speculate.
Not all the persons need these four examinations.
TREATMENT
- Surgical intervention
- With correct diagnosis
- When the normal life falters for the absence of vision
The treatment of the cataracts is fundamentally surgical. The cataracts operation consists of the extraction of the part of the crystalline one that is opacificada and his replacement for an artificial lens that is placed in the same place as the crystalline original (lens intraocular), restoring the vision that had got lost as a consequence of the cataracts.
Does the decision to have an operation on cataracts correspond to the patient, for it does the problem arise when we must take a decision on when?. For it the first thing that we have that knowledge is if the loss of vision is for cataracts, since not any decrease of the vision in a person of advanced age is produced by cataracts. For it the correct diagnosis for an ophthalmologist is the priority thing.
Once the diagnosis is sure we must appear it is if the loss of vision produced by the fond cataract the quality of life of the person, and it prevents him to realize normal activities. In this case there must appear the achievement of a surgical intervention.
TO SEE ALSO
WHAT DOCTOR CAN TREAT ME?
OPHTHALMOLOGISTS
Consult the Ophthalmologist
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