Eyes are the windows of our body. We will never realize the importance of eye unless we are in a situation that demands some extra care due to any difficulties.
There are many problems that can affect your vision. One of the most common problems is cataract. Cataract occurs when proteins build up on the lens, making your vision cloudy. Cataract is one of the most common causes of blindness.
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Biological aging is considered as the most important cause for cataract. But, at the same time, there are many other factors as well that affects a healthy vision. Seriousness of cataract varies from a change in your normal routine to the ultimate situation of blindness.
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The happy news is that cataract is curable with simple surgical procedures. Diagnosing cataract is very crucial in getting the treatments at the earliest. Along with that, knowing the causes of cataract also has importance in preventing the disease. Here are some of the common causes of cataract in adults.
Age: Age is one of the most important causes of cataract. The lens protein will get denatured as the age progress. There are many other age related diseases like diabetes and hypertension as well that contribute to an accelerated rate of the disease progression. Exposure to environmental factors will also result in cataract over time.
Trauma: Trauma is one among the causes of cataract in adults. Trauma will result swelling, thickening and whitening of the lens fibres. The white colour thus formed will ultimately lead to cataract. This will depend on the severity of the trauma like whether it damaged the lens.
Genetics: Genetics is another important factor that contributes a lot for the occurrence of cataract. Chromosomal abnormalities may cause cataract even in early childhood. Genetics may affect mechanisms that are responsible in protecting and maintaining the lens.
Skin diseases: Since skin and lens share the same embryological origin, certain diseases that affect your skin may also affect your eye lens. Atopic dermatitis, ichthyosis, pemphigus and eczema are some among them.
Infections: Another among the prime causes of cataract is infections. Certain infections like leprosy, toxoplasmosis and cysticercosis are found to be directly associated with the development of cataract.It is important to treat infections before they spread by becoming systemic.
Diabetes: One of the most major causes of cataract in adults is diabetes. If you have diabetes, it is important to include eye check up also in your daily routine. The enzyme aldose reductase catalyses the production of sorbitol from glucose by reduction reaction, resulting in the development of diabetic cataract.
Drugs: There are certain medications that may affect the vision of your eyes because of the development of cataract. Hence, they are considered as one of the important causes of cataract. Medications like corticosteroids are proven highly connected with the development of cataract.
Knowing the causes of cataract will be the best thing that you can do for an early diagnosis and treatment.