﻿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.
And in this video, we're going to take a closer look at 6
key causes of a cataract and how you can protect yourself from them.
Hey everybody, what's happening? This is Martin's Eye Tips with me
Martin Oguzie on this channel I bring you eye care tips,
how to videos and reviews all designed to help you see better,
see more comfortably and be less anxious about you eyes.
If that sounds interesting to them, please go ahead and subscribe
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so you get reminded every time I release a new video. Cataracts are very common
and most of us will know someone who has some degree of cataract.
And 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 in two categories.
So first of all,
we have Acquired Cataract, which really 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 video
I'm just going to really concentrate more on the acquired type of cataracts.
We're going to have a look at 6 key
acquired types of cataract. Basically because they're just more
common and just to keep the video down to a reasonable length as well.
So let's get going, in
at number 1, we have the Age-Related Cataract,
often referred to as a senile cataract in medical terms.
And senile now really is just a medical word
really to describe anything that is old age related.
So senile cataract really 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.
And 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. In our number 2 is the metabolic cataract. And 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.
And 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 causes of metabolic
cataract is by far diabetes, and diabetes really 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 obviously 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. And 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
is 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.
So number 3 is the Traumatic cataract.
They're cataracts that are traumatic can develop as a result of some kind of injury
that affects the eye often years before the cataract itself develops.
Traumatic cataracts has 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 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.
So examples of 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 also be an example of things that can cause early onset of cataracts
due to a traumatic event. Traumatic cataracts takes time to develop
and depending 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's 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.
So in number 4, is the 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 actually relates more to the impact of medications on the eye and how
medications, some medications can lead to cataract formation.
By far, the most common medication that is known to cause cataracts is steroids
on steroids, obviously used to treat inflammation.
And doctors and optometrist are well aware of this issue.
And optometrist 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 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.
So 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.
And this is obviously something that,
if there's any concerns, is worth a discussion with your doctor about.
So number 5,
we have a Secondary Cataract. And a secondary cataract is one that 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.
And also there may be some retinal
conditions, such as retinitis Pigmentosa or Leber's Congenital Amaurosis,
things like that, these kind 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.
A final type of cataract is called an Iatrogenic cataract,
and it's a really 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 actually having a Vitrectomy for a vitreous floaters in the eye
and a Vitrectomy is really when the vitreous fluid in your eye is fully or
partially removed and replaced with a saline fluid.
Lasik has been discussed by some people as a possible cause of Iatrogenic cataract.
But this doesn't really seem to pose much of a significant risk
and this might be because Lasik doesn't actually 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 really just recommend having a full and frank discussion
with your surgeon about your anxieties and also just asking
the questions about the risk as far as developing cataract may be concerned.
And it will also pay just to make sure
you've done your research to get a surgeon who's really 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 a cataract.
And I hope you found that to helpful and
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Thank you for watching.
Please check out some other videos in the links just to the side.
And I look forward to seeing you in the next video.
Take care.