8 yanktonmedicalclinic.com Cataracts can cloud your view of the world, as though you were looking through a dusty windshield. They form when the natural lens of the eye becomes cloudy and, without treatment, can make it hard for you to see. Cataracts are most often a result of age-related changes in the eyes. Less often, they can be caused by other things, like traumatic eye injury. Because cataracts are so common, it pays to know a few facts about them. 1. You can be born with a cataract. It’s rare, but sometimes babies can be born with a cataract or develop one early in childhood. These congenital cataracts are easy to spot during an infant checkup. 2. The overwhelming majority of patients will develop cataracts at some point in their lifetime. While typically cataract surgery occurs when a patient is in their late 60s or early 70s, each cataract progresses at its own rate, and surgery is performed on patients of a wide range of ages. 3. Diabetes can cause early cataracts. High blood sugar affects the body from head to toe, and the eyes are no exception. It changes the eyes’ lenses in ways that speed up the growth of cataracts. Your risk is related to how long you have diabetes and how well it’s controlled. 4. A variety of vision changes can signal cataracts. In addition to cloudy, dim or blurry vision, cataracts can cause: ● Double (ghost) images. ● More glare than usual at night from streetlights or car headlights. ● Colors to appear faded or yellowish. ● A need for more light at night to read. 5. Surgery can remove cataracts. Cataract surgery replaces the cloudy lens with a clear, artificial one. You might be a candidate if you have cataracts that interfere with your daily life. Cataracts will not form on the artificial lens, but sometimes scar tissue can facts about cataracts What to know about this common eye condition 6 Ophthalmologist Trevor Kindle, MD, performs cataract surgery right here in Yankton, eliminating the need for patients to drive out of the area.
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