Cataracts are an eye condition that makes it harder to see through your lens and worsens over time without treatment. There are different forms of this condition that people of several age groups can get, but it’s a common problem for seniors. To find out why, let’s examine basic facts about the illness, what increases the risk in the elderly, and what can be done to treat it.
If you live in the Pelham Gardens area of the Bronx, New York, and cataracts are obscuring your ability to see, the team of specialists at Bronx Eye Associates can help.
This eye condition creates a cloudy film of material that covers the lens of your eyes that results from the breakdown of the crystallin. Looking at things when you have cataracts is comparable to seeing through a foggy window. The main types of cataracts are:
Over time, cataracts often get bad enough that performing basic tasks becomes more difficult. This problem is common globally, affecting 17% of people, though the amounts vary by country. In the U.S., one in five of senior adults between 65-74 have cataracts, and over half of people over 80 have them.
The breakdown of the proteins in your eyes leading to cataracts is a natural process over time starting as young as 40, causing everything to clump together and start affecting your vision. The risk escalates as you get older, and they increase if you also deal with diabetes, you smoke, abuse alcohol, have a family history of the problem, have an injured eye, or spend lots of time in the sun. Some medications and treatments can also raise your chances, like upper body radiation treatment, steroids, and some arthritis or allergy drugs.
The type of cataracts you deal with due to age depends where your lens is affected. These include the nuclear sclerotic cataract which affects the center of the lens (the nucleus), cortical cataract which affects the surrounding area (cortex), or the posterior subcapsular cataract that forms in the back or the lens.
Surgery is the primary method of treating cataracts, though stronger prescriptions can help if the condition is mild in the short term. The overall process means removing the damaged lens and replacing it with an artificial one, and it can be done a few different ways:
The whole procedure takes up to 20 minutes, and if both eyes need it, they are done one at a time. Vision often improves in a few days, and things should go back to normal within a couple of weeks.
Age brings the increased risk of cataracts, but you don’t have to live with them. Make an appointment with the team at Bronx Eye Associates today to get the treatment you need for your eyes.
