Cataracts affect over 22 million Americans! For older adults in Orlando, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness. More than half Americans will have some form of cataract by the age of 80. Cataract Awareness Month is designed to bring awareness to the importance of routine eye exams and healthy vision.
What is a Cataract?
“A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens, which blocks or changes the passage of light into the eye. The lens of the eye is located behind the pupil and the colored iris, and is normally transparent. The lens helps to focus images onto the retina – which transmits the images to the brain. Your vision may become blurry or dim because the cataract stops light from properly passing through to your retina,” according to Prevent Blindness.
How do Cataracts Develop?
Cataracts are often part of the aging process, but there are many risk factors. Prevent Blindness warns of those risks;
Intense heat or long-term exposure to UV rays from the sun
Certain diseases, such as diabetes
Inflammation in the eye
Hereditary influences
Events before birth, such as German measles in the mother
Long-term steroid use
Eye injuries
Eye diseases
Smoking
Protect yourself and loved ones from cataracts
“Although getting a cataract is common, it doesn’t have to mean permanent vision loss,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America. “One way to protect our vision is to make a commitment to take care of our eyes today, including getting a dilated eye exam, so we can help protect our sight for the future not just from cataract, but other eye diseases as well.”
Regardless of your physical well-being or your age, routine eye exams are vital to healthy eyes. Many eye diseases threaten more than just our vision, they can affect our overall well being. During an eye exam Dr. Ward and the Team at Lake Nona Eye Care do much more than just establish your prescription for contact lenses or eyeglasses. A compressive exam will include checking for eye diseases and other issues leading to vision loss.