Cataract: causes, symptoms, treatment methods

Cataract causes, symptoms and methods of treatment

Cataract is an eye disease accompanied by clouding of the lens. It can be full or partial. Cataracts are thought to be a disease of the elderly, but clouding of the lens can occur at any age. Ophthalmologists emphasize that the prevention of eye cataracts plays an important role - this will help avoid its development or diagnose it at an early stage and successfully cure it.

Cataract causes

Ophthalmologists distinguish several factors that lead to clouding of the lens. The most likely causes of cataracts are:

• eye injuries;
• diabetes;
• infectious diseases that are severe and with complications (malaria, typhus);
• some dermatological diseases - scleroderma, neurodermatitis;
• forced administration of corticosteroids for a long time;
• high degree of myopia.

Congenital cataract develops if a pregnant woman has suffered flu, toxoplasmosis, rubella and other infectious diseases.

The acquired form of the disease most often occurs against the background of ophthalmological diseases - glaucoma, iridocyclitis, Fuchs syndrome, retinal detachment. All of the above reasons lead to disturbances in exchange processes that occur directly in the lens. The result is its cloudiness and loss of vision.

Clinical picture

Symptoms of cataracts differ depending on the severity of the pathological process:

1. A double image occurs in the diseased eye. This is an early sign indicating the beginning of opacification of the lens.
2. All objects seem blurred, there is a veil before the eyes. The blurring of the image cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
3. At night, sensitivity to light increases, and vision deteriorates sharply during this period. To the patient, even weak light seems too bright and irritating.
4. The colors seem pale, the patient cannot describe the intensity of the shade. Purple and blue are the most difficult to perceive.

Symptoms of complicated cataract are complex. The patient notes the simultaneous presence of a veil before the eyes, disturbances in the perception of colors, flashes of light around visible objects.

The signs of congenital cataract are considered separately in ophthalmology:

• at the age of two months, the baby lacks gaze fixation;
• nystagmus is noted;
• a clear cloudy spot (dot) in the pupil area;
• the child, looking at the toys, turns with the same eye.

Cataract treatment - therapeutic, surgical

After the examination, the cataract patient will be offered treatment. It is selected individually and can be medical or surgical. What to do at the initial stage of cataract:

• contact a specialist to confirm the diagnosis;
• carry out all doctor's appointments;
• go through a complete examination and rule out or confirm background diseases;
• regularly visit an ophthalmologist for examination to avoid recurrence or rapid progression of the disease.

The best remedy for cataract treatment is determined by a specialist. But in drug therapy, they often use:

1. Oftan catachorm - normalizes metabolic processes in the lens and can be used during pregnancy. Sometimes side effects are possible (burning in the eyes, dizziness).
2. Quinax - dissolves proteins that have accumulated in the lens, provides for long-term use even in case of rapid improvement of vision.
3. Taufon - has a positive effect on metabolic processes in the eyeball and lens. Provides long-term use (at least three months). An allergic reaction in the form of redness and burning in the eyes is possible.

Cataract eye drops should be used for a long time. Often, during therapy, the patient's vision improves, the pronounced visual impairment disappears, but after the cataract treatment is discontinued, it progresses again. With drug therapy, the doctor must specify how to treat secondary cataract. Such a diagnosis involves complex measures aimed not only at getting rid of clouding of the lens, but also at treating the underlying disease.

In most cases, they resort to surgical treatment. Modern methods allow it to be performed in outpatient settings without hospitalization of the patient. Most often, phacoemulsification of cataracts is used, during which cloudy masses are removed from the lens with ultrasound, and then an intraocular lens is inserted. The procedure is performed under local anesthesia for 10 minutes.

Any surgical intervention involves the replacement of the lens in case of cataract. In addition to the above method, extracapsular extraction is used in ophthalmology - complete removal of the cloudy mass. The lens capsule is replaced by an intraocular lens.

Rehabilitation after surgical treatment

After cataract surgery, the patient must properly spend the recovery period. It provides:

• exclusion of physical and visual stress;
• conducting a course of antibacterial therapy with Torbex or Floxal eye drops;
• anti-inflammatory treatment with drugs of local influence Indocollier or Diklof;
• avoidance of staying in dusty rooms;
• keeping the temperature regime and avoiding hypothermia.

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