Cataract Surgery: Most Common World Wide

Your eye is a complicated body part; if all the parts don’t work properly, your vision is affected. Part of your eye is the lens, which is the clear part that allows the eye to focus light or an image on the retina. The lens is made up mostly of water and protein. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. If this lens gets cloudy, this is called a cataract.

The lens gets cloudy when the protein bunches up together in the lens. The light or image can’t pass through the lens, leaving a cloudy spot. As the cataract gets larger and becomes more set, the color changes and you can see a yellowish or brownish tint when you look at things.

According to Thomas Kohnen of the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and his colleagues, many as 10 million people around the world live with cataracts. However, what used to be impossible to treat may now be treated  not only surgically, but with day surgery. The damaged lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens. As a result, this type of surgery is now the most common in the world, Dr. Kohnen says.

It is possible to have both eyes develop cataracts, but surgery is usually only done one at a time. Some people, who have more complicated eye issues, may not be able to have a simple surgery and will have to undergo other procedures.

If you think you may have cataracts, see your eye care specialist as soon as possible. There are things that you may be able to do before having to undergo surgery.

Symptoms of cataract include (Source: National Eye Institute):

• Cloudy or blurry vision.
• Colors seem faded.
• Glare. Headlights, lamps, or sunlight may appear too bright. A halo may appear around lights.
• Poor night vision.
• Double vision or multiple images in one eye. (This symptom may clear as the cataract gets larger.)
• Frequent prescription changes in your eyeglasses or contact lenses.
• These symptoms also can be a sign of other eye problems. If you have any of these symptoms, check with your eye care professional.

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