Cataracts

A cataract is an opacity of the eye's lens that reduces visual acuity and usually occurs bilaterally. With aging, the proteins in the lens begin to break down and precipitate, causing it to become opaque. They cause vision problems and are the most common cause of blindness, affecting more than 60% of people over 75 years old.

The cause of the disease is the denaturation of the lens proteins. The process can be favored by a number of risk factors:

• Age. It is the main risk factor, being especially common in those over 70 years old.
• Other uncontrolled diseases, such as diabetes or hypertension.
• Radiation. Excessive sun exposure (UV radiation), infrared rays, or ionizing radiation can cause cataracts.
• Eye injuries or trauma.
• Smoking.
• Some medications, such as corticosteroids.
• Undiagnosed celiac disease.

Cataracts develop slowly and without pain, with a progressive worsening of vision. Once the cataract is evident, visual problems may include:

• Sensitivity to glare.
• Cloudy, blurry, hazy, or dim vision.
• Difficulty seeing at night or in low light.
• Double vision.
• Loss of color intensity.
• Difficulty seeing contours against a background or distinguishing between color shades.
• Seeing halos around lights.

Most people with cataracts experience similar changes in both eyes, although one eye may be worse than the other.

The appearance of cataracts is difficult to prevent because age is the main risk factor. However, there are a series of actions we can take to reduce the risk of cataracts appearing:

• Avoid smoking.
• Sun protection, with a hat and sunglasses when the sun directly hits the eye.
• Avoid sun lamps and tanning booths.
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Control diabetes and/or hypertension in case of suffering from it.
• Avoid the use of corticosteroids as much as possible.

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