Many of you must have heard about cataract, but may not be fully aware of them. A cataract is a dense, cloudy area, which may form in the lens of your eye. A cataract usually starts when protein in your eye form clumps preventing the lens to send clear images to your retina.

Your retina finally works by converting the light, which comes through your lens into signals. It will send the signals to your optic nerve, which will carry them to your brain.

Cataract usually develops very slowly and eventually, it will start interfering with your vision. You may end up with cataracts in both of your eyes, but they may not get formed at the same time. For older people, cataracts are quite common.

Over 50% of people in the USA have cataracts or must have undergone cataract surgery as they near the age of 80 years, as per the data produced by the National Eye Institute. If you are suffering from a cataract and interested in cataract surgery Phoenix, then you must visit Swagel Wootton Eye Institute.

What are the symptoms?

Following are a few common symptoms that you can find for cataract:

• Blurry, foggy, or cloudy  vision
• Trouble to see at night
• Seeing colors as faded
• More sensitivity to glare
• See halos surrounding lights
• Often get double vision in the affected eyes
• Need for frequent changes in glasses
• Nearsightedness
• Problems to drive at night

What are the causes?

There are many different causes for cataract and a few of them are as follows:

• Overproduction of oxidants, and oxygen molecules that are chemically altered because of normal daily life.
• Due to smoking
• Due to ultraviolet radiation
• Long-term use of steroids and a few other medications
• Diabetes
• Trauma
• Radiation therapy

How cataracts can be diagnosed?

To find out whether you have cataracts, your eye specialist will like to know all about your symptoms. They will look closely at your eyes and will perform a few tests as follows:

1. Visual acuity test

One of the fancy tests done is called an “eye chart exam.” First, your doctor will request you to read a few letters from a certain distance to find out about the sharpness of your vision.

First, you will try it with your one eye and then try with the other. Also, they may do a glare test, where they will shine a bright light in the eye and then ask you to read a few letters.

2. Slit-lamp exam

This uses a special kind of microscope having a bright light that will let your doctor check different eye parts. They will look at your cornea, which is the clear outer layer. Also, they will examine the iris that is a colored part of the eye, and the lens that may sit behind it. The lens will bend light as it will enter your eye so you may see things.

3. Retinal exam

Your doctor will put a drop in the eyes to widen your pupils, which is the dark spots in the middle which control how much light can get in. This allows them to get a good look at your retina.