Don't let cataracts ruin the quality of the elderly

【Talk about health】

  Today, with the rapid development of the mobile Internet, the elderly formally started the era of small screens. As the duration of use of mobile devices with small screens has multiplied, the eye problems of the elderly have also increased.

Nearly 30% of the elderly with eye disease develop depression, and cataract becomes one of the important influencing factors

  "I originally wanted to kill sweet corn at a low price in the community spike group. As a result, I can see clearly that the spike activity has ended."

  "The mobile phone has been set to the largest font, but wearing reading glasses still can't see the news above."

  "I have a video call with Sunzi. Every time I click, I always click the voice call..." Speaking of these, old Li's eyes were a bit dark, and his eyes were even darker.

  Old people like Lao who are unable to enjoy life in the era of small screens because of eye problems are everywhere, and even have depression due to eye diseases.

  Researchers at University College London in the United Kingdom have surveyed more than 10,000 middle-aged men and women aged 40 to 74 years, many of whom have vision problems such as cataracts or glaucoma. It was found that 12% of the respondents with minor vision problems thought they were in poor health, and another 14% even had to consult a psychiatrist for mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. There are also news reports in our country that cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration are collectively known as the three major killers of the elderly's vision, and nearly 30% of the elderly with eye diseases will experience depression. This shows that "seeing clearly" is the basic guarantee for the quality of life of the elderly.

Cataract blindness is reversible, and surgery is the only scientific treatment

  The World Health Organization report states that cataract is the world's first blinding eye disease. According to statistics from the Ophthalmology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, the incidence of cataract in people aged 60 to 89 in my country is about 80%, while the incidence of cataract in people over 90 is as high as 90%. The 2019 State Council Government Work Report points out that my country’s population over 60 years of age has reached 250 million. According to the 80% incidence rate, the number of cataract patients in my country has reached 200 million.

  Cataract mainly refers to ocular diseases caused by aging, heredity, local nutritional disorders, immune and metabolic abnormalities, trauma, poisoning, radiation and other causes of lens metabolism disorder, resulting in degeneration of lens protein and turbidity. Cataract patients are often accompanied by symptoms such as blurred vision, ghosting, photophobia, glare, dark shadows in front of the eyes, and deepening of myopia. If they do not undergo surgical treatment, they will eventually lead to blindness, which will seriously affect normal working life.

  Although cataract is the first blinding eye disease in the world, it is not so terrible because cataract blindness is reversible. Surgery is currently the only way to treat cataracts, as long as patients undergo surgical treatment in time, they can restore vision.

Cataract needs to be mature before surgery? Experts say this is a misunderstanding

  Many elderly people are afraid of causing trouble to their children. After getting cataract, the operation time is delayed. There are also some elderly people who think that cataracts can only be operated after they have matured, that is, they are completely unclear. In fact, this is a cognitive misunderstanding of cataract.

  In the past, when cataract surgery was still in the stage of intracapsular resection, due to the long operation time, large surgical incision, and high incidence of postoperative complications, it was relatively convenient to remove the cataract after it was fully matured. Therefore, surgery is recommended only when cataract seriously affects daily life. However, the current cataract surgery technology has been developed to the stage of phacoemulsification and femtosecond laser. With the development of technology, the advantages of short surgery time, small incision, operation under the microscope, etc. Therefore, when cataract begins to affect life and special visual needs, you can The operation was performed.

  On the contrary, if the cataract is not operated in time, it will enter the overmaturation period, the lens capsule and ligament will become extremely fragile, and the lens nucleus will become very hard, then the cataract may break out at any time and cause the capsule to rupture on its own. , Or the lens ligament is broken and dislocated, the patient may suffer from severe uveitis and secondary glaucoma. At this time, the effect of reoperation will be very poor, and the chance of recovery will be very small.

  Therefore, the general public is reminded that if symptoms such as blurred vision, ghosting, and photophobia appear, they should immediately go to the hospital to be diagnosed by a doctor for cataract. If the cataract has seriously affected normal life, the doctor should diagnose the cataract surgery and do not need to wait until the operation is mature. In addition, domestic cataract surgery has matured at present, and both elderly and young cataract patients can perform cataract surgery.

(Author: Chen Maosheng, Department of Ophthalmology Ireland Group cataract surgery study group leader, Liqing Xia finishing)