Dr. Nihar Munsi Eye Foundation

CATARACT - A MAJOR CAUSE OF BLINDNESS

Cataract is bound to set in when we grow old. It is a part of ageing. Unfortunately there is a total lack of awareness regarding the dangers of harbouring a hyper matured cataract in our eye. A hyper mature cataract is just like an over ripe fruit which waits for no one, bursts or leaks or drops on to the ground from the tree to be discarded as a rotten fruit, likewise a hyper mature cataract may also burst or leak or drop into the Vitreous Jelly inside the eye and result in complication which may lead to blindness. Most of us become wary of an eye operation particularly when we are in the last lap of our life and if one eye is somewhat functional we tend to ignore a hyper mature cataract in the other eye. This is a dangerous practice like hanging on to a bomb ready to burst.

AWARENESS PREVENTS BLINDNESS

(1) CATARACT IS THE CLOUDING UP OF THE LENS IN THE EYE. THIS PREVENTS LIGHT FROM ENTERING THE EYE AND WHEN THE CATARACT MATURES THE EYE CANNOT SEE AT ALL.

(2) AN OVER MATURE CATARACT IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF BLINDNESS IN INDIA. LIKE AN OVER RIPE FRUIT WHICH MAY TURN SOUR AND DISCARDED. AS A ROTTEN FRUIT, AN OVER MATURE CATARACTED LENS MAY ALSO LEAK OR BURST IN THE EYE TO CAUSE BLINDNESS.

(3) QUITE OFTEN WE TEND TO IGNORE AN OVER MATURE CATARACT IN ONE EYE WHEN THE OTHER EYE IS FUNCTIONAL. THIS IS A DANGEROUS PRACTICE, WHICH MAY LEAD TO BLINDNESS IN THE CATARACTED EYE.

(4) IF YOU ARE AGEING AND YOUR VISION HAS BECOME CLOUDY, YOU MUST, IN YOUR OWN INTEREST, HAVE YOUR EYES CHECKED UP FOR CATARACT.

THE 80% THUMB RULE

(1) 80% OF ALL EYE SURGERIES ARE CATARACT SURGERIES.

(2) 80% WILL HAVE CATARACT AFTER 65/70 YEARS OF AGE.

(3) 80% OF THOSE WHO HAVE CATARACTS IN THEIR ADVANCED AGE WILL REQUIRE SURGERY.

(4) 80% CAN'T AFFORD THE HIGH COST OF IOL MICROSURGERY.