Dr Oz Cataracts The Leading Cause Of Blindness
By 65, a quarter of men and even more women will develop cataracts, the leading cause of blindness in the world. Today Dr Oz explained to Mark when you have cataracts it is like looking through a waterfall, because light front the front of the eye doesn’t reach the back of the eye. Learn more on Dr Oz Cataracts Leading Cause Of Blindness.
Dr Oz Signs And Symptoms Of Cataracts
- Clouded, blurred or dim vision
- Increasing difficulty with vision at night
- Sensitivity to light and glare
- Seeing “halos” around lights
- Frequent changes in eyeglass or contact lens prescription
- Fading or yellowing of colors
- Double vision in a single eye
At first, the cloudiness in your vision caused by a cataract may affect only a small part of the eye’s lens and you may be unaware of any vision loss. As the cataract grows larger, it clouds more of your lens and distorts the light passing through the lens. This may lead to signs and symptoms you’re more likely to notice.
How Does A Cataract Form
This is a question I have often wondered about because my Dad had cataracts on both eyes and had the surgery done to remove cataracts. The lens, where cataracts form, is positioned behind the colored part of your eye (iris). The lens focuses light that passes into your eye, producing clear, sharp images on the retina — the light-sensitive membrane on the back inside wall of your eyeball that functions like the film of a camera. A cataract scatters the light as it passes through the lens, preventing a sharply defined image from reaching your retina. As a result, your vision becomes blurred.
As you age, the lenses in your eyes become less flexible, less transparent and thicker. Aging-related changes to the lens cause tissues to break down and to clump together, clouding small areas of the lens. As the cataract continues to develop, the clouding becomes denser and involves a greater part of the lens. A cataract can develop in one or both of your eyes.
Dr Oz Risk Factors For Cataracts
- Increasing age
- Diabetes
- Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol
- Excessive exposure to sunlight
- Exposure to ionizing radiation, such as that used in X-rays and cancer radiation therapy
- Family history of cataracts
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- Previous eye injury or inflammation
- Previous eye surgery
- Prolonged use of corticosteroid medications
Smoking
Dr Oz Sunglasses For Protection
Dr Oz said polarized sun glasses are all well and good for protection for your eyes, but looking through them allow your eyes to dilate more. Get the UV protection sunglasses — sunglasses both polarized and UV protection are the way to go.
Cataracts that affect the center of the lens (nuclear cataracts).
Cataracts that affect the edges of the lens (cortical cataracts).
Cataracts that affect the back of the lens (posterior subcapsular cataracts).
Cataracts you’re born with (congenital cataracts).
