Cataracts of the eye > What is a cataract?

It belongs to the category of eye diseases which manifest themselves by turbidity of eye lens. Cataracts of the eye is the most common cause of blindness and in 90% of all the cases it is a senile cataract. Sporadically, cataract originates as a side effect of the use of medications in the cases of diabetes mellitus or is congenital as a result of intrauterine infection. Sometimes it can originate from an eye injury, as a consequence of roentgen, ultrared or UV radiation, after long term use of medications such as cortisone and in the case of chronic inflammation of choroid. It can be also genetically conditioned.

How I find out that I can have a cataract?

Insofar as it is a slow and gradual process, this eye disease is in most of the cases discovered in later phase. Therefore it is necessary to annually undergo a complete eye medical examination. The environment appears to a patient as blunt and dull, blurred and twisted. Contrasts lose on sharpness, colors on brightness. Sometimes the person feels that he perceives everything through a milk glass. Some patients firstly complain about strong symptoms of blinding when the sun shines or when in contact with counter lightning as in the case of front lights of a car coming from the opposite direction.

Some people are delighted to find out that they suddenly get along without their eyeglasses. It is caused by a change of eye lens characteristic to refract light that is caused by the fact that the eye lens becomes blurred. Sometimes the visually handicapped person becomes shortsighted which firstly compensate his senile longsightedness. Double pictures can appear as well.

Diagnostics is simple – it is enough to visit ophthalmologist who will examine you with the help of slit-lamp after dilation of the pupil. In most of the cases the treatment is surgical and the result is the return of eye sharpness.