Notes from the Parish Nurse
Are you remembering to wear sun glasses when you are outside in the bright summer sunlight? It is important to do so because excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun can increase one’s risk of developing cataracts. Sun glasses need to block at least 99% of UV rays. Wearing a hat or cap will also help to protect a person’s eyes.
A cataract is NOT a growth, but a clouding of the clear lens in one’s eye. The lens, which is composed of water and proteins, lets light through with minimal distortion, but with age the proteins can clump together. When this happens, less light can get through and vision is affected.
Age-related cataracts start small and may develop in one or both eyes. At first they cause no symptoms, but with time they might cause glare, blurring, double vision, poor night vision, dull color vision, worsening nearsightedness, sensitivity to light, halos around lights, or need for a brighter reading light. Cataracts don’t typically cause change in the appearance of one’s eyes. Signs and symptoms such as pain, redness, itching, or irritation aren’t symptoms of a cataract, but could signify other eye disorders.
Everyone is at risk for developing cataracts sometime, because age is the single greatest risk factor. By age 65 one has a 50 percent chance of having the beginning of a cataract. By age 75, 70 percent of Americans have cataracts. Other factors that increase one’s risk of having cataracts are diabetes, family history of cataracts, smoking, or previous eye injury or surgery.
It is important for all of us to have routine eye exams by a qualified eye specialist. Until age 65, one needs to have an eye exam every two to four years. After the age of 65, exams should be every one to two years, but be sure to have any new eye problems checked right away.
Cataracts cannot be cured with medications or dietary supplements. Surgery to remove the clouded lens is the only effective treatment and it should be done when the cataract interferes with vision. During the procedure, a clear intraocular lens (IOL) is usually implanted after the natural lens is removed. At one time cataract surgery was considered complicated and risky, but now it is considered one of the most common, and safest surgeries performed in the United States.
Unless one has other medical conditions that need monitoring, it is customary to go home right from the recovery room. Postoperative care includes administering the following eye drops: antibiotic (to prevent infection), steroid (to reduce inflammation), and/or NSAID (for discomfort); having a 1 day post-op eye exam and a 1 week post-op eye exam. Returning to daily activities, driving, and working can resume in just a few days. Depending on the type of lens that was implanted, one might see better immediately or certainly within a few weeks. Eventually more than 98 percent of people have improved vision.
Sites referenced: www.aao.org www.ascrs.org www.preventblindness.org