Cataract Concerns: Common Misconceptions Debunked
The development and formation of cataracts is one of the leading causes of vision loss worldwide. Preventing any permanent vision loss due to cataracts includes regular eye exams and intervention with cataract surgery. While painless, cataracts bring on other uncomfortable symptoms that include double or blurred vision, halos or glares around lights, night vision difficulty, fading of colors, need for brighter light for reading and sudden prescription changes to accommodate refractive errors in vision.
Eyesight, often taken for granted until compromised, is an indispensable gift and it is imperative to take proactive steps to preserve and protect this invaluable sense. The eyes serve as the primary source of information, guiding our interactions and decisions daily. As the gateway to the world, clear vision enables individuals to perceive its beauty, navigate through challenges and connect with others. The suggestion that cataracts are inevitable with age can easily lead patients down the rabbit hole to misinformation. Cataract concerns may be alleviated by simply debunking common misconceptions.
Misconception #1: Cataracts are growths on the eye. Cataracts are not growths on the eyes, but rather a clouding of the crystalline lens inside the eye. The lens is a transparent, flexible structure made up mostly of water and protein. Located behind the iris, the colored part of the eye, a clear lens is necessary to focus light on the retina for the optic nerve to communicate to the brain the images you see before you. The lens maintains its clarity through precise organization and function of these proteins. Over time, the proteins in the lens of the eye go through a process called denaturation due to oxidative stress, exposure to ultraviolet radiation and age that alters the shape and function of those proteins and causes clumps to form within the lens. That clumping creates blurred or clouded vision as well as other aggravated symptoms that eventually lead to full disruption of vision with an opaqueness of the lens. Eventually the lens will need to be removed and replaced with an artificial one.
Misconception #2: Cataracts spread from one eye to the other. Because cataracts are formed by the breakdown of the proteins in the lens of the eye, there is no bacteria or virus that spreads. It is not uncommon for both eyes to develop cataracts simultaneously.
Misconception #3: Cataracts only affect the elderly. One of the most widespread misconceptions about cataracts is that they exclusively impact the elderly. While it’s true that cataracts are more prevalent among the older generation, they can develop at any age. Factors such as genetics, trauma, certain medications and underlying medical conditions can predispose individuals to cataracts, regardless of their age. Congenital cataracts (developed in infancy and early childhood), secondary cataracts (formed because of another disease in the body like diabetes) and traumatic cataracts (brought on by an injury to the eye) are examples of non-age-related cataracts.
Misconception #4: Cataracts can be prevented or cured with eye drops. Maybe one day science will advance to eliminate the surgical aspect of replacing cataracts but for now techniques such as phacoemulsification and advanced laser surgery are the safest and surest procedures for cataract removal and replacement with an intraocular lens.
Misconception #5: Cataracts can grow back after surgery. Because the full lens is removed, it is impossible for cataracts to grow back. Cataracts also cannot form on intraocular lenses that replace the natural lens. An extremely rare complication of an IOL implantation is what is called a secondary cataract, known also as posterior capsular opacification, a development of a film-like material that grows behind the implanted lens.
To learn more, schedule a consultation with Pennachio Eye to clear up the confusion surrounding cataracts. Call us at 325-227-1999 or visit WEBSITE for cataract concerns, common misconceptions debunked.