June is Cataract Awareness Month!

What is cataract?

Cataracts are common and occur naturally as we get older. It forms when the lens inside our eye changes with age and becomes less transparent and more cloudy, much like how old glass gets cloudy. Over time, a cataract will progressively get worse, gradually making your vision more blurred.

Healthy_eye_vs_cataract:_clear_lens_gives_sharp_vision,_cloudy_lens_causes_blurry_vision.

Who develops cataract?

The main risk factors for developing cataract are as follows:

  • Age
  • Diabetes
  • Trauma (impact to the eye or head)
  • Certain medications (such as steroids)
  • Eye surgery for other conditions
  • Other possible causes: UV exposure,
  • smoking & vitamin malnutrition

What are the signs and symptoms?

  • Cloudy, fuzzy, foggy or filmy vision
  • Alteration in appearance of colours
  • Difficulty driving at night
  • Severe glare from lights or the sun
  • Frequent changes in your spectacle prescription
  • Seeing double (even with one eye closed)
  • Better near vision for a while

What should I do if I think I have cataract?

Deciding on cataract surgery may not be straight-forward. If you feel your vision is blurred you can get examined by an optometrist or an eye doctor. If new glasses don’t improve your vision and your doctor tells you there are cataracts, then you might want to consider cataract surgery. An eye test can give you an idea of how good your vision is. However, surgery is not recommened simply based on your eye test. You should think about how and whether your quality of life is being affected by your vision. For an example, if you enjoy playing golf or reading, or you need to drive a car, you may want to have cataract surgery sooner.

What if I do not want cataract?

If you choose not to have treatment now, you can always change your mind in the future, if and when your cataracts start to trouble you. It is not advisable to wait until cataracts get very advanced before you opt to have surgery.

Although your sight is likely to be better after you’ve had a cataract removed, you might still need to wear glasses for certain tasks. Therefore, if you can still see well enough with glasses to do the things you want, you may delay having surgery.

Sometimes, people have other eye problems that needs treating, and the cataract is in the way. For an example, some people get damage to the retina because of diabetes etc. If you need surgery for any other condition, your doctor may then recommend that it would be better to have the cataract removed simultaneously. This would also save you having another operation just for the cataract.

Occasionally, another eye condition can mean you won’t get much benefit out of cataract surgery. And if your health is generally poor, surgery may have more risks. If this is the case, it might be better to avoid having an operation. There are things you can do to try to make your life easier. Get new glasses if you need them, as this will maximise your vision. Brighter lighting, especially where you’re reading, will help. Consider getting an angle-poise lamp or similar light-source for your reading area.

When going out in the bright sunlight, anti-glare sunglasses or a hat with a brim can prevent glare from lights and the sun. Lastly, if you still have difficulty, magnifying lenses may make reading easier – just let your doctor know and they can assess you, send you to an optometrist or ‘Low-Vision Aid’ clinic for further evaluation of what tools would suit you best.

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Keratoconus: Causes & Symptoms

Keratoconus is a very serious disease affecting the cornea. The cornea is the clear, outer layer of the eye which functions to focus light rays onto the retina. Keratoconus causes progressive thinning of the cornea. The usual round shape of the cornea thins and begins to bulge into an irregular cone shape. This abnormal shape prevents light entering the eye from being focused correctly onto the retina causing blurred and distorted vision. The irregular cone may also cause glare and light sensitivity. Visual loss primarily occurs from irregular astigmatism and myopia and secondarily from corneal scarring. Corneal scarring occurs in the advance stage of Keratoconus when the cornea becomes significantly thin causing a tear in the descemets membrane leading to flow of fluid or aqueous into the stroma causing the cornea to swell and thus leaving a scar. This disease typically begins at puberty and progresses till the age of 30. This condition may progress slowly for 10 years or longer. Keratoconus typically affects both eyes, with one being severely affected than the other. The risk factors are usually those with a family history of Keratoconus and eye rubbing. Eye rubbing is associated with patients who have allergic conjunctivitis or allergic eye diseases. They are quite prone to constantly rub their eyes. This rubbing actually causes thinning of the cornea. Early diagnosis is crucial for patients with Keratoconus. Signs and symptoms of Keratoconus may change as the disease progresses. At an early stage, patients may complain of blurred or distorted vision and an increased sensitivity to bright light and glare. These patients also usually have a large change in refraction over the course of a year. This is usually a 0.50D of myopic change or 1.00D of cylinder change over the year. If you noticed you need frequent change in your glasses prescription, then you should get your eye checked by an Ophthalmologist.
A cornea specialist would be able to assess your eye and rule out Keratoconus. Keratoconus treatment depends on the severity of the condition and how quickly the disease progresses. Once a patient has been diagnosed with Keratoconus, the next important thing is to prevent its progression. Patients will be advised to stop eye rubbing and any eye allergies should be treated. Surgical intervention such as corneal cross linking will also be advised to stop progression of the disease.

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