Have you reached middle age and finding your vision ain’t what it use to be. Cloudy, blurred vision gotten in the way of recognizing approaching faces. An eye lens, or both, may be developing a cataract.
Because age is the primary risk factor for cataracts, the unclear vision symptom beyond 50 is not uncommon.
Normally, your eye lens is transparent, or clear. Your eye lenses are made up of mainly water and protein. It’s these proteins that preserve clarity.
But due to aging, some of these proteins may clump together, causing gradual lens clouding. As a result, far off vision distinctness starts to blur.
Some common symptoms of a cataract are:
- light halos
- blurry vision
- cloudy vision
- double vision
- light sensitivity
- myopia increase
- poor night vision
- yellowing of colors
- brighter light for reading
- faded, dulled color vision
- reading vision improvement
- headlights, lamps, sunlight glare
- change vision prescription frequently
Some of these symptoms can be caused by other eye conditions. And eye pain, redness, itching, irritation or discharge are not symptoms of a cataract.
Age is not the only risk factor for cloudy, blurred vision symptoms. Your cataract development might be attributable to:
- diabetes
- galactosemia
- family history
- Marfan syndrome
- hypoparathyroidism
- diabetic retinopathy
- smoking, alcohol use
- previous eye surgery, injury, inflammation
- excessive sunlight, ionizing radiation exposure
- prolonged use of corticosteroids (prednisone), statins, phenothiazines
During the initial development of cataracts, you may discover that new eyeglasses, brighter lighting, anti-glare sunglasses or magnifying lenses may help with your symptoms.
Yet, the safest and most effective treatment for a cataract is surgery. Today, this surgery has advanced to the extent that removing your cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial one is a very low risk, pain is minimal and recovery is a snap.
Every surgery carries risk, with cataract surgery these problems are extremely rare:
- bleeding
- inflammation
- loss of vision
- double vision
- infection ~ endophthalmitis
Some who require cataract surgery may have other eye conditions, notably age-related macular degeneration or glaucoma.
Ways to prevent the formation of a cataract has not been determined. Still, a healthy lifestyle generally prevents disease. So, consumption of health promoting nutrition, brimming with vitamin A, C and E antioxidants, regular exercise and ample sleep is a good bet against cloudy, blurred vision of cataracts.