Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: Monox D. I-Fly on 03/10/2018 03:36:18
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Yesterday I went to doctor and it was revealed that I have cataract. I was shocked so I forgot to ask some important questions. What caused cataract? I mean, what lifestyle/habit can trigger cataract? Can cataract be cured without undergoing surgery? Because honestly, I am scared. Can carrot reduce or cure it? The doctor gave me some vitamin B-complex. Is consuming a huge amount of food which contains those enough?
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The primary cause is age, although eye injury can also cause cataracts.
To reduce the rate of progression, wear sunglasses with a high UV protection rating.
I had recently a chat with an optometry student about cataract treatment options. Her advice:
- If it is mild, you don't have to do anything. All surgery carries risks.
- If it starts to interfere with vision (eg you would not get a driving license), you should have surgery to correct it.
- Don't leave the surgery too late, as the lens continues to harden over time; if you leave it too long, the surgeon needs to use more force to break up the lens, and that carries additional risks.
- Today, the lens insert has a fixed focus, so you can throw away your reading glasses - but you will then need glasses for distance vision.
- Graduated lens inserts are available, but they don't suit everyone. Unlike external glasses, you can't just "take off" your intra-ocular lens.
The costs of surgery will depend on the healthcare system in your country.
You could start with an overview here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract
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Age? But I am only 28.
Is there any particular habit/lifestyle that trigger cataracts other than eye injury?
Also what about my questions regarding carrots and vitamin B-complex?
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Been here, done that. Annoying but fixable, though I haven't heard of any dietary fix.
Ultraviolet, heat, or ionising radiation will initiate cataract but the official line on cataract seems to be "it just does, sometimes", and whilst 28 is a bit on the young side, it's not unheard-of. Some dogs get cataracts from a very young age.
Don't ignore it. Once it starts, cataract can progress very rapidly so consider lens replacement as soon as it is advised. The operation takes about 30 minutes and is painless. I was driving the next day (wow! such clarity!) and declared fit to fly after 6 weeks. If you are shortsighted and wear specs most of the time, discuss having a shortsighted replacement lens - easier to shave and read in bed without specs!
You may be offered a bifocal or varifocal replacement lens. From what I have seen, they don't have as good acuity as monofocals and if you are or intend to be a professional driver or pilot, they may be forbidden. The trick is that the centre of the lens is "normal" and the outer region "shortsight", the theory being that as the pupil opens indoors, you won't need specs for general use. Problem is that night driving or flying (bright sky, dark instruments) are compromised. Varifocal specs are much better.
If one eye develops a spontaneous cataract, the other will usually follow, so don't be surprised.
There is no doubt that lens and hip replacements are among the most sucessful and life-improving elective surgeries ever. I've had both, and am eagerly awaiting my second lens replacement, all free of charge thanks to the National Health Service.
Best of luck, and enjoy the outcome if you progress to surgery. If you have a lens replacement, you will be amazed at how much detail you have missed in the last few months: "stumble and fumble" to "hawkeye" just about describes the improvement!
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Most of the advice on 'antioxidants' is bunk. However cataracts is one of the conditions that it might help for:
https://www.allaboutvision.com/nutrition/cataracts.htm
To the extent this is right, you want a diet high in antioxidants, vitamins A, C, E, lutein and zeaxanthin. So, not so much carrots, more Kale. Also you don't want a super high carbohydrate diet; glucose can react with proteins in the eye and can trigger or accelerate cataracts. If you're overweight, lose it, because that will improve your insulin sensitivity.
But no, so far as I know, it can't be reversed, you might be able to halt it though.
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Carrots are a good folk myth. It is true that carotene is converted to vitamin A which plays a part in vision, but in the retina, not the lens, and you would need to eat a few tons of carrots to make any measurable difference in retinal sensitivity.
The folk myth was a bit of UK government propaganda in WWII. John Cunningham was a highly successful night fighter pilot. In 1940 his success was acclaimed by the nickname "cats' eyes" and publicly ascribed to eating carrots, to (a) keep radar-guided interception secret and (b) encourage civilians to grow and eat vegetables. Fact is that he was an exceptionally skilled and disciplined pilot who worked hard at night fighting, but the myth spread to encourage US forces to accept the UK wartime diet, with more root vegetables and cabbage, and less fruit and salad, than they were used to.
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I think Cataract can be controlled taking medicine. Because if it not under controlled then the doctor did give you medicine to recover it. I will suggest you just do what the doctor prescribes you.
All the best!
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The best way to not get cataracts any sooner that you otherwise will is NOT to smoke.
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The best way to not get cataracts any sooner that you otherwise will is NOT to smoke.
I never smoked at all in my life. Strangely, before I was diagnosed with cataract I was also diagnosed with bronchitis. Oh, and I have undergone the cataract surgery about a week ago, at October 6th.
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Last year, my father went through Cataract Eye Surgery and now his eyes are all fine. I was so worried about the surgery but spam took care of it and everything went so smooth that my father did not face any complications and difficulty during and after the surgery. I can now definitely suggest this spam hospital located in xxxxxxxx to anyone who is looking for any type of eye treatments. Moreover, In my opinion, cataract eye surgery is the most suitable procedure to cure cataract.
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In my opinion, cataract eye surgery is the most suitable procedure to cure cataract.
That may be true, but your lack of foresight in trying to spam us with your bogus hospital earns you a ban.
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Yesterday I went to doctor and it was revealed that I have cataract. I was shocked so I forgot to ask some important questions. What caused cataract? I mean, what lifestyle/habit can trigger cataract? Can cataract be cured without undergoing surgery? Because honestly, I am scared. Can carrot reduce or cure it? The doctor gave me some vitamin B-complex. Is consuming a huge amount of food which contains those enough?
Red Led therapy for a few seconds could help. you need to research it on google and youtube which shows the devices and applications...You can buy them of ebay/amazon..
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Red Led therapy
Heat, radiation, or just age can cause the proteins in the lens of the eye to become disordered, tangled and opaque (a cataract).
What is the mechanism which allows red light to untangle proteins and make them transparent again?
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract#Classification
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It's okay guys, I underwent the cataract surgery just 3 days after I made this thread. Now my right eye isn't near blind anymore.
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Mazeltov!