Wearing specs among children is a common sight nowadays. The main reason for weak eyesight today is excessive watching of television, use of mobile phones and computers. Apart from this, lesser interest shown by kids in outdoor activities and exercises can also be listed as the reason for weak eyesight. For the well-being of your child and especially their eye sight it is necessary to keep a check on time they spend with electronic devices as excess time spent on these during formative years may affect the vision badly as the person grows.
Childhood
is an extremely important period in a human’s life cycle. A healthy beginning
of life is the key to overall health for the rest of the life. This is applied
to the eye health too. If not looked after properly in childhood, even a little
problem can turn into a serious one. Often parents don’t pay much attention to
eye care until a child complains of being unable to see distant things or some other
problem. This negligence can be harmful for your child’s eyes, as many a times
some problems may develop and stay undetected before turning into a severe one.
Cataract removal is a completely safe procedure which is done on an outpatient basis which takes about an hour or less to perform. In this procedure, eye drops are put inside the eye to dilate the pupil and numb the area around. Post this, the clouded lens from the patient's eye is removed which is replaced with an intraocular lens. Once the surgery is done, the patient can get back home. But it is advised that the patient shouldn't drive, or perform activities like bending, lifting etc. for about one week after the surgery.
Today with the advancement in medical technology, surgery for cataract
removal has become an extremely safe procedure.
Gone are the days when
post cataract removal surgery, patient had to sit home wearing bandages
for minimum 1-2 weeks. But today, Cataract surgery involves removal of
the clouded lens of the eye and replace it with an artificial lens. This
procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, which means that the
patient don't have to stay in the hospital after the surgery.
Aging is considered as the primary cause behind Cataract formation. But there are certain other factors too, which can contribute to Cataract formation. They are diabetes, hypertension, Obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, previous eye surgery, high alcohol consumption, eye injury, excessive exposure to UV rays and family history of having cataract. Regular eye examination can help early detection of cataract which can further be helpful in the treatment process.
At all ages, it is advised to keep a regular check on your eye number. The constan change in eye number (power of glasses) can be a serious outcome of an underlying ocular or systemic disease. Frequent change in eye power after 40 years may indicate development of cataract and needs to address. Corneal Disease like Keratoconus, Corneal Scarring can lead to frequent change of glass power as well.
The Cornea is the most delicate part of the eye which helps in focusing image on the retina Any injury to it calls for immediate medical attention. Read more about Corneal injury in the accompanied article of mine that appeared in today's The Hindu.
