This is the 3600th article of Da Yi Xiao Nursing
The following situations appear in the eyes, beware! A lot of older people don't know...
Do you feel ghosted when you've been watching something lately?
Have you noticed that fixed shadows that dot or flake often appear in front of your eyes recently?
Do you feel that things are getting blurrier and blurrier or even impossible to distinguish colors?
- Be vigilant! You may have cataracts! Cataracts are one of the leading causes of blindness in older people.
So, what is a cataract? Do my eyes turn white with cataracts? Next, our popular science team will answer them for you one by one.
1. What is cataract?
As we age, the metabolism of a substance called the lens in the eye is disrupted, resulting in a partial or complete loss of the nature and function of the proteins it contains, and after a series of changes, the lens gradually becomes cloudy - which develops into cataracts. Therefore, the "whiteness" of cataracts is not that the eyeballs become white, but because the lens changes from the original transparent texture to turbidity, just like becoming "white". This also reminds the elderly that whether they have cataracts cannot be judged by looking in the mirror to observe the changes in the color of the eyeballs, and they need to pay more attention to the changes in their own vision.
2. What are the manifestations of cataracts?
1, blurred vision: looking at things foggy, it is difficult to distinguish between objects with blurred boundaries.
2. Color vision change: the absorption of blue light by the cloudy lens is enhanced, which makes the sensitivity of the affected eye to blue light decrease, that is, it is more difficult to distinguish blue objects.
3, day blindness or night blindness: day blindness is in a bright environment vision is worse than when the light is dim. Night blindness is when things are blurred or completely invisible in dimly lit environments or at night.
4. Monocular polyopia: the crystal part of the cataract is cloudy and transparent at the beginning, and the light projected onto the retina through it will produce double or multiple shadows.
5, rainbow vision: around the light source will appear a circle of color halo wheels like a rainbow after the rain, the order of arrangement is often green inside and red.
6. Shadow in front of the eyes: There may be dot-like or flaky shadows with fixed position and unchanged shape in front of the eyes.
3. How to treat cataracts?
Cataract treatment mostly uses surgical methods, and the effect of drug treatment is not obvious. At present, it is mostly advocated to use intraocular lens implant surgery, small incision, less tissue damage, short operation time, and fast restoration of vision.
Fourth, a few questions and answers about surgery
1. Q: I have high blood pressure, diabetes and coronary heart disease, can I also have surgery?
A: After examination by medical staff, if blood pressure, blood glucose, heart function, etc. are controlled within the scope of the surgical requirements, they can be carried out.
2. Q: Is the operation good? Can it be done once and for all?
A: Cataract surgery in most elderly people works well. However, there are also some elderly cataract patients who have blurred vision after surgery, which does not have to worry too much and seek medical treatment in time.
3. Q: After the operation, it is much clearer to see things at once! So do I still need to pay attention to eye protection?
A: Of course! The maintenance of the postoperative effect of cataracts also requires daily careful care: wear a hard eye mask before going to bed; avoid excessive eye fatigue, especially fine eye activities, such as reading books and newspapers, which are best arranged in the morning; pay attention to the adjustment of light, avoid direct illumination from harsh sunlight and strong light bulbs, and so on.
Cataracts are a topic that the elderly cannot bypass, but through early detection, early surgery, and early care, cataracts can be effectively treated and healthy vision restored, and the "white" in front of them is no longer white!
(Illustrations are all original)
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Class of 2018, major in nursing
Drawing design: Yuan Huiwen
Written by: Wu Jie, Fan Yijun, Yin Hongfan
Instructor: Tao Xingjuan Zhang Yaqing