Early treatment is the only way to prevent blindness due to cataract. A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil, said Dr Jahid Ali Sidhiki.
“Cataract commonly causes vision loss among the people over age of 40; a principal cause of blindness across the world,” he added. In a bid to bring awareness about cataract ‘World Cataract Week’ kicks of here by Bokaro Ophthalmological Society, a ‘run’ was conducted by the doctors on the inaugural event. Doctors conducted 1 Kms run from Nayamore to BSl Administrative Building.
There are three types of cataracts—Subcapsular cataract, Nuclear cataract and Cortical cataract; it can be detected through a comprehensive eye test which includes Visual acuity test, Dilated eye test and Tonometry, said Dr Kriti Was.
Besides advancing age, cataract may causes due to another reasons which may be Ultraviolet radiation from sunlight and other sources, Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity, Smoking, Prolonged use of corticosteroid medications, Statin medicines used to reduce cholesterol, Previous eye injury or inflammation, Previous eye surgery, Hormone replacement therapy, Significant alcohol consumption and High myopia too, he said.
The risk of cataracts can be reduced by wearing protective sunglasses that block 100 percent of the Sun’s UV rays ( during outside).
Besides wearing sunglass taking healthful diet and good nutrition appropriate use of antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C and foods containing omega-3 fatty acids may reduce cataract risk, he said.