Cataracts: Not Just an “Old People” Problem
- Insight uOttawa
- Oct 30, 2022
- 2 min read
By: Raneem Budair
Cataracts are a very common eye condition in which the eye’s natural lens becomes cloudy. This is due to a breakdown of the proteins in the lens that fogs up the lens causing your vision to become hazy or blurry. Other symptoms of cataracts include vision distortion, such as seeing double, and dull or yellow tinted vision.
The most common cause of cataracts is natural aging. In fact, cataracts are the most common age-related eye condition and the leading cause of blindness. After the age of 40, the proteins found in the lens of the eye start to break down and this buildup of protein clumps in the lens is what eventually leads to the development of cataracts. However, while this protein buildup may begin in your 40s, vision problems may not appear until years later.
Does this mean that you’re safe for now? Unfortunately not. While aging may be the lead cause of cataracts, cataracts can actually develop due to various other reasons and they don’t wait until you’re 40.
Trauma cataracts, quite common among athletes, is the clouding of the lens that occurs as a result of blunt or penetrating trauma to the eye. This can disrupt the fibers of the lens and result in blurry vision. These types of cataracts can take years post-injury to develop and oftentimes require surgical removal.
Radiation cataracts are yet another type of cataract that can develop through increased exposure to harmful radiation. This can range from spending time under the sun without sunglasses to medical x-ray procedures to radiation therapy for cancer. In the case of radiation cataracts, the cloudy lenses are a result of damaged cells from the radiation covering the lens and causing cloudy vision.
Other types of cataracts include:
Nuclear cataracts
Cortical cataracts
Congenital cataracts
Secondary cataracts
Christmas tree cataracts (interesting name..)
Cataracts can only be fully removed through surgery in which an ophthalmologist will remove the cloudy lens and replace it with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens (IOL). However, if your cataract is not severely impairing your vision or your ability to live your daily life, a doctor may suggest you just get a glasses prescription that will help you see a little better without removing the actual cataract.
So, even if you are not 40 yet, if you begin to feel any symptoms such as hazy vision, double vision, or eye sensitivity make sure to go see your eye doctor to determine if it may be a developing cataract in order to get it treated as soon as possible. Better safe than sorry!
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