Cataract - causes and signs of cataract

As a rule, the disease develops against the background of various pathologies of the cornea and other parts of the visual components. The appearance of this element often becomes an explanation for a significant decrease in the patient's quality of life, and in severe cases, a person may completely lose the ability to see with the affected eye. In addition to visual impairment, the "veil" creates a visible cosmetic defect, which can explain psychological problems.

Doctors distinguish two main types of damage: congenital and acquired. The first is very rare in the form of a pathology that forms in the prenatal period as a result of various processes. Although the placenta is a fairly strong barrier, many viruses and microbes can penetrate inside. The resulting inflammation can affect the ocular membrane of the fetus, causing anomalies in the formation of eye tissues.

The second type, acquired, is a lesion that forms due to damage to the organ of vision in some way. This variant is diagnosed in the vast majority of cases.

Corneal defects can vary in shape and size. This can be a small cloud-shaped defect, total corneal damage, and so on.

Causes

Leukoma can appear against the background of a wide variety of pathologies. More often, the condition for its formation will be pathological processes affecting the cornea itself.

Various factors can precede the occurrence of leukoma.

• Keratitis affecting the surface of the eye itself, which can be external or deep. Often, in the absence of adequate treatment, internal keratitis is transformed into leukoma, while superficial keratitis can ulcerate and deform the outer layer of the eye. Keratitis usually involves the proliferation of blood vessels that do not disappear after therapy.
• Various conjunctival diseases that spread to the cornea.
• Burns and eye injuries of any severity are also a characteristic condition for the development of this pathology. A burn can occur under the influence of aggressive substances or high temperatures.
• Surgical interventions, even when using minimally invasive techniques, can become a factor in the development of complications or injury to the eyeball, which leads to the formation of cicatricial changes.

Symptoms

The first characteristic sign of the defect is a decrease in the acuity of the visual apparatus due to the dullness of the outer side of the eyeball. The severity of this symptom will depend on the volume of impact and the location of the defect.

A damaged area located directly in the center of the pupil causes more discomfort. In practice, for example, if there is chemical alkaline damage, visual acuity may deteriorate to light perception.

In other cases, the "veil" may be very unnoticeable, located in the peripheral area and not affecting visual acuity. A person may not even suspect that he already has such a defect, or not pay attention to minor visual impairments.

Diagnostics

Diagnostics is not difficult for an ophthalmologist. To confirm the diagnosis, the following research methods are used:

• external examination, during which the affected area can be seen very clearly: it is usually characterized by a light shade, can bulge or have irregularities and roughness;
• ophthalmoscopy, used to assess the "purity" of the spot and reflexes of the fundus;
• biomicroscopy, which is used for a thorough study of the defect. With this method, the most insignificant and small foci of application are detected.

Treatment

In case of minimal defects that have practically no effect on the crystallinity of the surface of the eyeball and do not impair the ability to see, treatment is not carried out, since the removal of the defect will occur surgically and there is no point in taking unjustified risks.

In case of moderate areas of inflammation, therapy is prescribed to eliminate keratitis. For this, anti-inflammatory and other drugs are used, which are selected depending on the main deviation.

Significant opacities of the membrane are treated only by surgery by transplanting donor transparent areas of the organ. Such an operation is called keratoplasty. There are several options for its implementation, a specific option can only be recommended by the attending ophthalmologist after examining the patient. Therefore, if such a defect is present, the patient needs to receive a quality consultation with an ophthalmologist and an ophthalmologist surgeon to determine the necessary treatment tactics.

Prevention

Prevention of leukoma is based on the prevention of eye injuries, timely detection and treatment of any ophthalmological diseases that can lead to the formation of a spot.