In this article we will get acquainted with the answer to the question of what is it - a cataract of the eye? In particular, attention will be paid to the definition of a medical term. The issues of cataract treatment, its diagnosis and symptoms, various stages of the disease-causing factors and some drops that are used in the fight against cataracts will also be considered. Let's pay a little attention to historical data for general information.
Introduction
Cataract of the eye is a pathological condition that is associated with the eye lens, namely, its clouding. This disease leads to various disorders that manifest themselves in varying degrees, up to the absolute loss of vision. So answering the question of what it is - a cataract of the eye, we can define it as a disease that affects the lens.
There are many factors that can lead to cataracts. This may be due to the influence of radiation,injury, a number of diseases (for example, diabetes). The process of denaturation of a protein that is part of the eye, namely the lens, serves as a physical factor that causes clouding.
Over 90% of cases of disease is a consequence of age. After 60 years, more than 50% of people begin to decrease the transparency of the lens, and after 80 and older - almost one hundred percent. Cataracts are also the main cause of blindness (up to 50% of cases).
Symptomatology and diagnosis
Answering the question of what it is - a cataract of the eye, it is impossible to ignore the point about the manifestations of this disease.
Among the possible symptoms of cataracts, the main one is a decrease in visual acuity. However, the place where clouding begins causes two different phenomena, in one of which the deterioration in the abilities of visual analyzers may not be observed (if the disease began to affect the periphery of vision), and in the second it will be noticeable (if there is an effect on the central part of the lens). The degradation of vision will noticeably increase with the approach of the cataract to the center of the eye. The disease can lead to myopia (if the nucleus of the lens is affected). This reason causes people with cataracts to often replace glasses with varying degrees of “plus” with lenses. If the ailment is of the swelling type, then the lens will acquire an increasingly saturated white color.
With cataracts, there may be increased or decreased sensitivity to light. If the disease is congenital, then in a child it can leadto strabismus, the presence of white pupils, a decline in visual abilities (the latter can be detected during the use of silent toys in the absence of reaction to them).
When carrying out diagnostic procedures, they check the indicator of visual acuity, the breadth of its field. They also measure intraocular pressure, perform a number of ultrasound and electrophysiological studies of the retina and optic nerves.
The use of slit lamps allows the doctor to determine the maturity of the cataract and the degree of clouding of the lens. Among other things, sometimes an additional examination is required to detect the presence of other possible visual impairments (retinal tissue detachment, glaucoma, etc.).
Watch the eyes
Signs of cataracts of the eyes can vary among themselves and differ, which is caused by the presence of several degrees of the disease, but the main list should include:
- Double vision in one eye when the other is closed (an early sign that will disappear as the disease progresses).
- Fuzzy display of images and blurring of images that are not corrected by the use of glasses or lenses. There is a feeling of a veil covering everything around.
- A person notices glare and / or flashes (more often observed at night).
- Increased light sensitivity of the visual analyzer at night (the light source seems annoying and too bright).
- When trying to look at a light source, a person can observe halos around it.
- Violation of the perception of colors (their blanching). The most difficult thing for a cataract patient is to perceive purple and blue colors, as well as their shades.
- Temporary improvement in visual abilities. An example is the refusal of glasses by a patient who previously wore them.
- The constant need to change glasses may be another reason to think about cataracts.
Signs of specific types of disease
The doctor knows what to do with a cataract in the eye. However, to begin with, a specialist needs to establish an accurate diagnosis.
The first sign that an ophthalmologist pays attention to is the age of the patient who visited him. The clinical course of cataracts has many characteristic features, in particular, clouding of the lens. Most often it has a grayish color, less often with a hint of white. Opacification may begin to develop in different parts of the lens, which allows the doctor to make conclusions about the type of cataract and its stage.
There is a relationship between the type of disease and the clinical picture that the ophthalmologist will observe:
- A white spot with well-defined borders indicates the development of an anterior cataract. If it takes a pointed and extended shape, then it is called the pyramidal anterior.
- A cloudiness in the region of the posterior pole of the lens, presented as a white colored ball, indicates the presence of a polar cataract.
- The characteristics of a central cataract are similar to a spherical one, however, opacities are located right in the center and reach 2 mm in diameter.
- Spindle cataract is defined by its shape, which looks like a thin spindle located in the central part of the lens.
- Congenital cataract of the zonular type can be recognized by the characteristic cloudy nucleus and the transparent layers located in it.
- Dense soft cataract is characterized by clouding of the entire lens and liquefaction of its masses. In the future, a "bag" is formed.
- Diabetic cataract is determined by the appearance of white opacities on the surface of the lens, taking the form of flakes. Often leads to a change in the iris.
- Tetanic cataract corresponds to the signs of diabetic, but it is located initially under the lens capsule and later spreads into the thickness of the cortical layers (problems with the thyroid gland).
- Toxic cataract can be recognized by the appearance of opacities that are centralized under the lens capsule. In the future, they will begin to spread to the cortical layers.
- The senile form of cataracts can be identified by many signs, and may depend on the level to which the disease has reached.
Eye disease cataracts are usually diagnosed using the above information. However, there are other features of the disease, which most often only a specialist knows about.
Ways to fight
How is eye cataract treated and what is used during the procedures?
Currently, there is only one effective method for eliminating cataracts. They are surgeryduring which the clouded lens is removed. Every year, over twenty million operations of this kind are carried out around the world, and about half a million in Russia. What does a cataract specialist do? The lens is the main object of manipulation. It will be replaced with a special artificial intraocular lens.
Phacoemulsification surgery is the most common and traumatic procedure today. It is realistic to carry it out even on an outpatient basis, but this should be done by a specialist with experience. Phacoemulsification has no age categories and restrictions.
All patients diagnosed with cataracts should consult an ophthalmic surgeon. The specialist will help determine the time frame during which it is necessary to fix the problem. This procedure is safe and allows you to return to your normal life immediately.
Treatment of cataracts in the uncomplicated eye involves local drip anesthesia without the use of acupuncture. Next, the surgeon makes a micro-incision (1.8-2.8 mm). The tip of the phacoemulsifier is inserted into the space of the microcut, which performs oscillatory movements at the speed of ultrasound. Using this procedure, the lens mass is converted into an emulsion liquid. It is then output.
Replacement of the lens of the eye in case of cataract is performed at the next stage. Instead, an intraocular lens (IOL) is implanted. The micro-incision is tightened independently without the use of sutures. The procedure is painless.
Moderntechnical capabilities allow a person not only to restore lost vision, but also to correct corneal astigmatism, as well as eliminate dependence on glasses.
How is eye cataract treated other than the above method?
There is also femtolaser surgery, which began to be widely introduced quite recently. Her methods make it possible to obtain predictable results. Currently, femtolaser surgery is a rather expensive technology.
Treatment of cataracts in the eye in clinical trials using eye drops is carried out on animals. Such a drug would hypothetically slow down the spread of the problem. The active substance is lanosterol. It dissolves protein accumulations in the thickness of the lens. However, there is still no good reason to be sure of the effectiveness of such a tool.
Contributing Factors
There are many causes of cataracts in the eye. Among them are the following:
- The Diabetes Factor.
- Smoking and drinking factor.
- Some eye injuries.
- Taking corticosteroid medications.
- Long exposure to light rays on the surface of the eyeball.
- The age factor leads to a decrease in antioxidant levels and a deterioration in the body's ability to fight natural toxins.
- The phenomenon of retinal detachment, iridocyclitis, chorioretinitis, Fuchs syndrome and some other diseases, as well as problems of metabolic processes occurring inlens, can lead to cataracts.
- Severe Infection Factor. Examples are such diseases: typhus, smallpox, malaria and others.
- Anemia.
- Poisoning by substances with toxic effects. Among them, for example, thallium or naphthalene.
- Some skin diseases such as eczema, neurodermatitis, etc.
- Third degree of myopia.
- Heritage factor.
- Down's disease.
- Working in workshops with high temperatures.
Bad environment and exposure to radiation can also be factors that can lead to cataracts.
Transformation of disease
Initial cataracts in the eye are often subtle, but when obvious symptoms appear, it is recommended to immediately consult an ophthalmologist. To identify the level of complications that could develop in the fundus, the doctor will be able to use special drops. The pupil will be dilated first. The lack of proper treatment will allow the disease to progress, and in the future will lead to serious complications, up to the complete loss of the ability to see. Also, if you do not treat cataracts, you can begin to suffer from increased intracranial pressure and the development of glaucoma. The optic nerve dies, and the nerve impulses that enter the brain for information analysis are no longer radiated.
Statistics suggests that 12% of cataract patients are subject to rapid progression of the disease. This leads to absolute clouding of the lens. About 15% of patients lose their sight within fifteen years. The prevailing number of people need the intervention of an ophthalmic surgeon during7-10 years old. Replacement of the lens of the eye for cataracts is a painless procedure, and the fear in relation to the upcoming operation is absolutely groundless. For a trained doctor, this is a simple manipulation.
Cataract includes the following stages:
- Anterior and posterior capsular.
- Perionuclear layered.
- Nuclear.
- Cork.
- Full.
Cataracts may be immature. In this case, the opacification will be located on the imaginary central part of the lens. There is a loss of visual acuity. The movement of such a cataract is directed into the thickness of the central optical zone.
Overmature cataract is characterized by a milky-white color of the lens, the discoloration of which occurs due to the liquefaction of the substance that forms it.
Probable Complications
If the eye cataract is not diagnosed in time, and also not eliminated, this can lead to the following problems:
- Total blindness, or amaurosis, which progresses slowly. Amaurosis is a state of absolute blindness.
- Dislocation of the lens - a complication characterized by displacement of the lens or its complete detachment from the retaining ligament. There is a sharp deterioration in vision.
- Phacolytic iridocyclitis - a disease that manifests itself in inflammation of the tissues of the iris and ciliary body. At the same time, severe headaches and eye pains are felt.
- Phacogenic glaucoma - characterized by a secondary increase in intraocular pressure. This is due to the increase in sizelens.
- Obscurational amblyopia. This complication is more common in children and is the result of a congenital disease.
Eye cataract and surgery are two inextricably linked phenomena. You should not put off going to the ophthalmologist when the first symptoms appear, indicating a disease.
History and present
The first cataract surgery was performed by surgeon Jacques Daviel. He made it in 1752. The first procedure to replace the lens with artificial analogues was carried out shortly after the Second World War. This work was done by a surgeon from England, Harold Ridley. The researcher noticed that eye plastic injury did not always lead to complications or adverse reactions. Based on this observation, he decided to create artificial lenses that could be implanted. On February 8, 1950, the first such operation was carried out. The cataract of the eye was eliminated in 45-year-old nurse E. Atwood.
Scientists from China and the US published in 2016 the results of their experiments to eliminate cataracts using stem cells. The technology is the cultivation of another lens that replaces the old one. Such cells can slow down the process of tissue necrosis and cause the restoration of new or damaged tissues.
During the operation, the cataract of the eye is removed, followed by stimulation of stem cells. Having tested this protocol on some types of animals and having received good results, the doctors carried out such aprocedure in twelve infants with congenital cataracts. During the treatment, all children regained their lost vision.
Using drops
For cataracts in both eyes (or the eye), drops are often used to stop the progression of the disease. They also prevent the development of complications after major operations. Any kind of such a medicine should be prescribed by an ophthalmologist. It is not recommended to try to eliminate the disease on your own.
"Oftan Katahrom" - a drug used to combat cataracts. It includes nicotinamides, as well as adenosine and some other compounds. The medicine normalizes metabolic processes, has a positive effect on oxidative and regenerative phenomena. Drops play the role of antioxidants. Their advantage is the rapid onset of the improvement effect, and they are not absorbed into the blood. They can be used while carrying a fetus.
Burning eyes is the most common side effect of the drug. The medicine has some restrictions on the use associated with individual intolerance to the components. It is not recommended to wear lenses during the application of drops.
With cataracts of the lens of the eye, Quinax drops are also used. They have a positive effect on the processes of resorption of protein masses formed in the gas lens. Also, "Quinax" activates some enzymes that lie in the cavity of the eye anterior chamber, inside which a large amount of moisture is concentrated. Drops are lowabsorption and do not cause side effects. Do not interact with other medications. Children and pregnant women are advised to consult a doctor before use.
"Taufon" is another drop used for the prevention and control of cataracts. They also trigger regeneration processes in the tissues that form the lens of the eye. "Taufon" normalizes metabolic processes in the eyeball. A possible complication is the appearance of an allergic reaction. The remedy is used for almost any type of cataract.
Skulachev's drops, otherwise referred to as "Vizomitin", are used to combat dry eye syndrome. They are often prescribed after surgery. The duration of admission is determined by the severity of the symptoms, which the doctor must determine. The tool can be used in conjunction with other similar drugs, however, it is necessary to take an interval of about five to ten minutes when taking. "Vizomitin" is not recommended for use during breastfeeding. You can apply only after 18 years.
Eye drops "999" from cataracts and glaucoma - a means for the prevention and treatment of the disease in question. Relieves eye strain, fights cataracts, tones the eyes. Not recommended for severe eye pain.
It must always be remembered that the use of drugs in most cases does not replace surgery. Therefore, you should not rely only on them. When identifying the first signs of cataract, it is importantconsult a doctor and strictly follow his recommendations to resolve the problem.
We examined how the lens of the eye is replaced with cataracts, what symptoms this disease manifests.
