Many patients who live with diabetes at some point develop a diabetic cataract. The lens of the eye is normally clear, but cataracts cause a clouding to occur in the eye’s lens. A diabetic cataract forms as a result of diabetic retinopathy. Retinopathy is caused in diabetics because of the damage that is inflicted on the blood vessels that supply the eye’s retina. The retina is a layer of tissue that can be found at the back of the inner eye. It acts as a camera, because it changes light and images that enter the eye into nerve signals that are sent to and comprehended by the brain.
Diabetic cataracts develop slowly over a long period of time and pain is not normally associated with them. When a diabetic cataract forms, vision will gradually get worse. A person with a diabetic cataract may experience symptoms such as eye sensitivity; fuzzy, foggy, filmy or cloudy vision; a hard time seeing at night or in low-light settings; loss of color intensity in the vision; double vision; difficulty recognizing shapes that are placed against a background; inability to tell the difference between different shades of colors; and seeing halos around lights.
A standard eye exam can detect a diabetic cataract. It is important for people with diabetes to make routine annual trips to their eye doctor to detect the onset of a diabetic cataract in its early stages. Diabetics who experience eye inflammation, eye injury, a family history of cataracts, radiation exposure, tobacco use or too much exposure to ultraviolet light are at an increase risk of developing a diabetic cataract.
What You Should Know About Diabetic Cataract Surgery
Although a cataract will not damage the eye, they are still a nuisance to those who are plagued by them. Glasses will not help a person to see better if they have a cataract. Diabetic cataract surgery is a viable option for those who wish to gain relief from a cataract. Cataract surgery diabetic retinopathy is a safe and common procedure. Having diabetic cataract surgery is typically the only option for improving a person’s vision once it has been affected by a cataract. If a person is unable to do the things they once enjoyed (such as watching TV, walking outdoors, reading and writing) diabetic cataract surgery should be considered to improve one’s quality of life.
A diabetic cataract surgery is usually a day surgery that includes a patient having the procedure done in the morning and returning home the very same day. The operation itself only takes 20 to 30 minutes. Although it is not very common, some complications can arise from diabetic cataract surgery. People without diabetes see a 1 in 100 chance that they will experience severe complications as a result of cataract surgery. Diabetics, on the other had, have a slightly higher risk of developing problems from diabetic cataract surgery and may even need to undergo a second operation.
