You may well know that cataract is when the crystal lens in the eye starts to become cloudy, and this affects the transparency of the lens, which in turn makes it difficult for the individual to see through. What you may not know is that cataract has many different causes. In this blog post, we’re going to take a closer look at 6 key causes of a cataract and how you can protect yourself from them.
Cataracts are very common and most of us will know someone who has some degree of cataract, if you want to find out a bit more about cataract, have made a previous video on what a cataract is and you can catch that link just up here in the corner.
Cataracts are classified into two categories. So first of all, we have Acquired Cataracts, which are cataracts that develop at some stage of life after our birth, then we have the Congenital Cataracts which are cataracts that we are essentially born with.
In this blog post, I’m just going to concentrate more on the acquired type of cataracts. We’re going to have a look at 6 key acquired types of cataracts. Because they’re just more common and just to keep the post down to a reasonable length as well.
So let’s get going…
Age-Related Cataract.
Often referred to as a senile cataract in medical terms. Senile now is just a medical word really to describe anything that is old age-related. So senile cataract just comes about as we all get older, the crystalline lens in the eye starts to regenerate in generates throughout life, but the older cells get pushed towards the center of the crystalline lens and as a result, the lens starts to lose transparency and it starts to take on more of a brown appearance and it starts to become more cloudy and our common age for the onset of cataract Age-Related cataract, that is, it tends to be more from about the age of 60 onwards.
- In terms of prevention, not everybody gets a cataract and in fact, most of us will never need an operation for cataracts but the best way to protect yourself really is to reduce your exposure to high levels of ultraviolet light (UV) and also blue light as well. This might mean that you perhaps start to make sure you’re using 100 percent UV blocking glasses and also blue-blocking glasses as well and your normal optical glasses as well as sunglasses.
Metabolic cataract.
A metabolic cataract is due to a disease process that affects your body’s metabolism and the metabolism is a set of life-sustaining chemical reactions that occur in living organisms, so some diseases affect specific reactions. This may lead to the formation of a cataract, a lot sooner than it perhaps would in the normal age-related process.
Now, the leading cause of metabolic cataracts is by far diabetes, and diabetes is just a condition that affects how the body metabolizes sugar.
- In terms of prevention for diabetic individuals, then I’d say if you’re somebody who is a type one diabetic individual, then you really should be doing everything you can to control your blood sugars as well as possible by taking all the advice from your doctor. If you’re somebody who’s a type two diabetic, then I would say take all of your medications but I think you also need to be proactively trying to reverse your diabetes by making the necessary lifestyle and dietary changes as well.
So there’s good evidence to suggest that you can reverse your diabetes and in doing so, you’re able to delay and also minimize the impact of diabetes on the formation of cataracts.
Other causes of metabolic cataract include a skin condition that we call Atopic dermatitis and also a condition that we call Myotonic dystrophy, which is a muscle condition. Now, some of the common links between these metabolic conditions are that they’re all largely genetic conditions, although type two diabetes is more of an acquired condition as a result of an individual’s lifestyle choices.
Traumatic cataract.
Traumatic cataracts can develop as a result of some kind of injury that affects the eye often years before the cataract itself develops. Traumatic cataracts have to be the most common cause of an early cataract in somebody that develops cataracts in one eye. So if you happen to be somebody who finds yourself developing a cataract, perhaps in your early 40s, then it may well be worth thinking back to any incidences a few years, maybe even a couple of decades back, that might have been quite traumatic to the one eye.
Causes of traumatic cataract include a penetrating injury to the eye and lens, also blunt trauma to the eyes, including things like a tennis ball, cricket balls to the eyes as well, and then also electrical shocks can be an example of things that can cause early onset of cataracts due to a traumatic event. Traumatic cataracts take time to develop and depending on when you had the initial injury, so you usually find that traumatic cataracts will bring about a cataract below the age of 50 and then also being one eye.
- In terms of prevention here, particularly with high-risk sports, it’s worth doing your research into whether the sports that you’re engaged in is one of the sports that really can be identified as a high risk for eye-related injuries and then take the necessary precautions with wearing the protective shield, et cetera. That might help in the event of an injury that occurs to the eye.
And also, if you do have an injury to the eye, it’s worth making sure that you get seen by an eye care professional or medical professional fairly soon if you feel quite well in yourself, just to make sure that there are no complications that could be dealt with at the time that may result in issues and also this traumatic type of a cataract developing as well.
Toxic Cataract.
Now a toxic cataract may well sound like something out of an X-Men movie that results in a mutant eyeball, but it relates more to the impact of medications on the eye and how medications, some medications can lead to cataracts formation.
By far, the most common medication that is known to cause toxic cataracts is steroids on steroids, obviously used to treat inflammation, doctors and optometrist are well aware of this issue. Optometrists as part of their routine, asking of questions about the medications they take taking. These are the kinds of things that we want to be vigilant about, and we want to make sure that the medications that you’re taking don’t have implications in this way for your eyes.
Other medications that can affect the eye and cause cataracts to include Amiodarone, which is often taken for heart rhythm issues, as well as Chlorpromazine, which is often taken for perhaps some mental health issues, as well as also nausea and vomiting in some instances as well.
- In terms of prevention and all medication, attention really should be paid to the dosages that you’re taking and also the length of time that you taking them. So if there were any concerns, then usually with advise and talk to your doctor about the dosage that you’re taking and perhaps suggest a drug review with the doctor and of course, when it comes to certain medications, you will need to take high dosages because this may be more effective for the treatment that you’re taking it for. But it’s also about getting a balance of how much of the dosage that is necessary and also for how long you need to take them as well, this is something that, if there are any concerns, is worth a discussion with your doctor about.
Secondary Cataract.
A secondary cataract comes about really as a complication of some other disease that’s going on in the eye. So, for example, chronic Iritis is a common cause. Also, there may be some retinal conditions, such as retinitis Pigmentosa or Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, things like that, these kinds of genetic retinal conditions, which may also be known to cause cataracts as well.
- In terms of preventing these diseases, which may have the secondary impact of causing cataracts. It can be quite difficult but you know, it’s certainly important to manage in the long term or chronic conditions that you have and make sure that they’re well controlled and managed in terms of conditions that are quite new, then it’s important that they get treated as quickly as possible and not be left to linger. Where then some of this kind of complication could be more of an issue.
Iatrogenic cataract
it’s a fancy name for a cataract that is caused by having surgical treatment for some other kind of condition within the eye. So effectively, it is also a secondary cataract, but it’s secondary to having a surgical treatment.
So an example of this, a common example, is having a Vitrectomy for a vitreous floater in the eye and a Vitrectomy is really when the vitreous fluid in your eye is fully or partially removed and replaced with saline fluid.
Lasik has been discussed by some people as a possible cause of Iatrogenic cataract but this doesn’t seem to pose much of a significant risk and this might be because Lasik doesn’t involve a full-thickness cut into the eye and as a result, it doesn’t seem to have the same kind of risk and causing cataract.
- In terms of prevention, I just recommend having a full and frank discussion with your surgeon about your anxieties and also asking questions about the risk as far as developing a cataract may be concerned. It will also pay just to make sure you’ve done your research to get a surgeon who’s experienced and I think that alone will have the biggest impact on making sure the surgery goes smoothly and minimizing any risk of developing cataract post-operation.
So that’s been my more rundown of the 6 causes of acquired cataract and I hope you found that helpful.
I look forward to seeing you in the next blog post.
Take care.
