What exactly is a cataract?
Cataract is a disorder of eye lens metabolism, lens protein degeneration and turbidity. The occurrence of cataract may be related to human aging, genetic diseases, local nutritional disorders,immune diseases, trauma, poisoning and radiation.Cataracts can affect your eyesight, causing you to see things blurred and even blind.According to the different causes of cataract, it can be divided into senile cataract, traumatic cataract, radiation cataract, congenital cataract, diabetic cataract and other types.
4 misunderstandings of cataract
1、Can minor cataracts be treated with medicine?
Cataract is the result of aging of the lens. Its essence is protein denaturation. As far as the current medical development is concerned, there is no medicine that can prevent or reverse thisprocess. Worldwide, no eye drops have been proven to be effective in treating or slowing down the occurrence of cataracts.Some people find eye drops useful because cataract patients are usually accompanied by dry eye, blepharitis and other ocular surface problems, such as dry eyes, burning, foreign bodysensation and other symptoms. After using eye drops, these symptoms will make the eyes comfortable, and to some extent, the symptoms of blurred vision will be reduced. Some eye dropshave a cool feeling of use, but they are only comfortable to use, and are not helpful to the condition of cataracts.However, the unreasonable use of eye drops for a long time, the preservatives and other ingredients in it can also aggravate the problem of the ocular surface.
2、Cataracts have to mature before surgery?
In fact, this is a misunderstanding handed down from the past of backward surgical technology and equipment. Decades ago, cataract surgery was still relatively backward, and it was necessary to wait until the cataract had developed to a certain level before it could be performed. However, the phacoemulsification surgery used now has small trauma, quick recovery and good results. Therefore, as long as you feel that cataract affects your vision and interferes with your life, you can perform surgery. And it is not recommended to wait until the cataract is too mature, as that will increase the risk and affect the effect of the operation.
3、Cataract surgery is dangerous?
At present, the main surgical method for cataracts is called: phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation, which is also a safe and effective surgical method for treating cataracts recognized worldwide. Cataract surgery is a minimally invasive surgery. Centenarians and young children can undergo surgery as long as they pass the examination. The entire operation only takes about 10 minutes. There is no need for injections and medicine after the operation, and the eyes can be used normally the next day.So it is not a very risky operation.
4、The more expensive the "intraocular lens" for surgery, the better?
Because different intraocular lenses have different functions, the prices vary greatly. Which one to choose depends on the preoperative examination and the doctor’s recommendation to choose the one that suits you. It’s definitely not the more expensive the better. Moreover, under normal circumstances, no matter which kind of intraocular lens is used for life, there is no such a case that the more expensive one will be used for a long time, and the cheap one will not be durable.
How to prevent cataracts?
So someone may ask, can cataracts be prevented? It is actually possible.
Excessive exposure to strong ultraviolet rays will cause cataracts to develop earlier and faster. In addition, trauma can also cause cataracts. Therefore, preventing ultraviolet rays and protecting the eyes from trauma as much as possible are effective ways to prevent cataracts.
When it comes to UV protection, the best way is to wear sunglasses. Many people do not have the habit of wearing sunglasses, but this habit is very necessary. Wearing sunglasses not only makes you look cooler, but also effectively blocks ultraviolet rays!
It is recommended to use UV 400 sunglasses, which can protect 100% from ultraviolet rays and have the best sun protection effect.