SIGNS OF CATARACT THAT ELDERLY PEOPLE MAY IGNORE

15/09/2023

Cataracts are a common disease in people over the age of 50, causing visual impairment and causing many inconveniences for the elderly in life. If not treated promptly, it can cause blindness. However, many elderly people do not know the signs of cataracts, so they often consider it a disease of old age and accept to live with it. Cataracts can be treated quickly and easily with surgical methods. Therefore, recognizing the signs and risks of disease plays an important role in seizing the "golden time" in treatment.

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Cataract in elderly people

Signs of cataracts

Cataracts often progress silently over time. Signs and symptoms of cataracts include:

Blurred vision: This is a common sign in people with cataracts in the early stages. The patient will feel "as if" everything is a little blurry like there is a thin film of mist in front of the eyes. However, over time, this phenomenon will increase and the patient will see things become noticeably blurry.

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Blurred vision

Decreased night vision: As cataracts progress, the lens will become darker, affecting the patient's vision in low light conditions, especially at night.

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Vision at night

The feeling of glare and pain: This is one of the common symptoms of people with cataracts. When looking at light sources, patients often feel glare, and even pain.

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Patient feels pain

Decreased color perception: The colors of objects perceived by the eye become darker and grayer than they are. The patient may not feel the change in color contrast because this symptom can occur over a long period.

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Decreased color perception

Halos appear everywhere: Cataracts can cause light diffraction, so when patients look at light bulbs, they will often see halos around them. However, this is also a phenomenon that can occur in several other eye diseases such as corneal swelling, glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, etc.

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Halo example

Myopia progresses over the age of 40: Continuously changing glasses with an increasing number of degrees can be one of the manifestations of cataracts. At this time, the patient's vision often declines, and changing the number of glasses no longer helps the patient improve their vision.

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Myopia progresses over the age of 40

Double or triple vision: Diffraction from cataracts can cause seeing one object as two or three things. This symptom may disappear as the cataract becomes more severe.

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Double or triple vision

In the initial stage, only a small part of the lens is cloudy, not significantly affecting vision, and patients often cannot recognize abnormalities in the eye. As the disease progresses, the cloudy lens becomes larger, leading to distortion of light passing through the lens. At this point, the signs become clearer, and the patient begins to pay attention and realize that he or she is infected.

👉 If you realize that an elderly person in your family has one of the above signs, take them for a timely examination at the Japan International Eye Hospital by registering here: https://jieh.vn/en/make-an-appointment.

Cataract Treatment Methods

Phaco cataract surgery

Phaco (Phacoemulsification) is the procedure to fragmentize the cloudy lens, remove it and then replace it with a proper artificial lens in order to restore your vision. With outstanding advantages:

  • Proven safety and effectiveness over many years around the world.
  • No pain.
  • No stitches are required.
  • No need to stay in the hospital.
  • Live and work normally the next day.

👉 Learn about and register for Phaco surgery at: https://jieh.vn/en/services/phaco-surgery.

Cataract Laser Cataract Surgery

LASER CATARACT is the most modern surgical treatment for cataracts today by fragmentizing and removing the cloudy lens, and then replacing it with an artificial lens that fits your eye. In this procedure, a number of manual operations by the surgeon such as creating an incision, creating a tearing path for the lens in the front membrane and fragmentizing the cloudy lens shall be performed by Femtosecond Laser. With outstanding advantages:

  • The incision follows the physiological curve of the eye.
  • Does not cause secondary astigmatism.
  • Combine astigmatism treatment with the same surgery.
  • The ultrasound energy used to suction the vitreous is reduced by 50% compared to PHACO, helping to limit corneal edema.

👉 Learn about and register for Cataract Laser surgery at: https://jieh.vn/en/services/laser-cataract-surgery.