Detecting Eye Diseases and Conditions

Steps to Prevent AMD

These preventive steps may help keep AMD at bay:

Eat more leafy green vegetables and fish.
Maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly.
Don't smoke.
Check your blood pressure regularly. Get treatment if your blood pressure is too high.

Your Eyes and Cataracts

A cataract is an eye condition in which the eye's normally clear lens becomes cloudy. It eventually occurs in both eyes but may be more noticeable in one eye first. Since less light passes through a cloudy lens, vision blurs. Cataracts are small at first and may not affect vision. But the denser they grow, the more they affect your vision.

Most cataracts are due to aging. Other risk factors include:

Diseases, like diabetes
Eye injury or trauma
Eye surgery for another problem
Inheritance or pregnancy-related causes (Babies can be born with cataracts or develop them in childhood.)
Overexposure of eyes to the sun's damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays
Smoking
Certain medications

Who's at Risk for Cataracts?

The risk increases with age. Other risk factors for cataracts include:

Environmental -- such as overexposure to sunlight
Lifestyle -- including smoking and alcohol use
People who have certain diseases -- including diabetes

Symptoms of Cataracts

The most common cataract symptoms include:

Blurred or cloudy vision
"Faded" colors
Increased glare from headlights, lamps, or sunlight
Poor night vision
Multiple images in a single eye, or doubled/ghosted vision in the eye with the cataract
Frequent prescription changes for your eyeglasses or contact lenses

Treatment of Cataracts

For early cataracts, these steps may help:

Getting a new eyeglass or contact lens prescription
Using brighter lighting
Using magnifying lenses
Wearing sunglasses

If cataracts interfere with everyday activities, your doctor will probably recommend surgery. Surgical cataract removal is one of the most common, safest, and most effective types of surgery done in the U.S. Delaying cataract surgery until it interferes with your quality of life is appropriate and won't harm your eyes.

If you choose surgery, you'll be referred to an ophthalmologist who can perform the surgery (if you don't already have a doctor you trust). During the procedure, the eye surgeon removes the cloudy lens and replaces it with an artificial clear lens. If both eyes need cataract surgery, surgery will generally be done one eye at a time separated by a time interval felt appropriate by your surgeon.