Your Senior Advisor: Cataracts Common Ailment of Aging

By Shannon Wygant, Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and owner of the Waterford and Walled Lake, Michigan franchises of Home Instead Senior Care. 

1. I am a 78-year-old widower who recently has been diagnosed with cataracts.  My vision has deteriorated and I’m scared about not being able to care for myself.  I’m scheduled to visit my eye doctor soon to discuss this issue.  Until then, what can you tell me?

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, you shouldn’t have to live with the problems brought on by cataracts.  August is Cataract Awareness Month, a great time to focus on what causes this common eye condition and the importance of caring for your eyes.Technological advances in recent years have made cataract surgery faster, safer, more comfortable and ultimately more effective, the academy said.  A cataract is a gradual clouding of the clear lens in the eye, the part that focuses light and produces clear images. Inside of the eye, the lens is contained in a sealed bag or capsule.As old cells die they become trapped within the capsule, the academy explains.  As time passes, more cells die and accumulate causing the lens to cloud, smearing vision and making things appear blurred and fuzzy, like peering through a fogged or frosted window.

Those with a cataract may have:

·         blurry vision, with no pain

·         glare, or sensitivity to light

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