Not being able to see is not necessarily due to presbyopia! Beware of cataracts

Not being able to see is not necessarily due to presbyopia! Beware of cataracts

"My vision is getting blurry. What's going on?"

#A brief introduction to senile cataracts

Public Cases

The patient was a 81-year-old female with painless visual loss in her left eye.

1. Discovery of Disease

My grandma is 81 years old this year. A while ago, she suddenly said that she couldn't see with her left eye! I thought she was just presbyopic, but after careful questioning, she said that her left eye vision had been declining for three months. I took her to the hospital for a check-up.

After listening to my grandmother's description of her symptoms and considering her age, the doctor initially suspected that she had senile cataracts in her left eye. For further diagnosis, the doctor asked my grandmother to straighten her head and found under the slit lamp that both of her eyes were cloudy and the lens of her left eye was incompletely dislocated!

After admission, the doctor tested my grandmother's vision, checked her intraocular pressure and fundus photography, and carefully re-examined the anterior segment of the eye. The examination showed that her right eye's vision was 0.15, and her left eye could not see the eye chart clearly; the intraocular pressure of the right eye and left eye were 15.0 mmHg and 18.0 mmHg respectively.

Combined with the symptoms of decreased vision in my grandmother's left eye and a series of professional examinations, the doctor diagnosed that my grandmother did have cataracts. He recommended that we undergo surgery without delay.

2. Treatment Process

The family unanimously decided on surgical treatment, so before the operation, the doctor arranged for local instillation of levofloxacin eye drops to reduce the risk of infection, and also performed tear duct flushing to prevent inflammatory diseases such as dacryocystitis.

On the day of the operation, everything went smoothly and the operation took less than half an hour. After the operation, the doctor prescribed levofloxacin eye drops to prevent infection and prednisolone acetate eye drops for anti-inflammatory and swelling treatment. At the same time, pranoprofen eye drops were also used to further reduce inflammation.

Because grandma is older, the doctor closely monitored her overall condition, blood pressure, and blood sugar before and after the operation to prevent any abnormalities.

When my grandmother was discharged from the hospital, her vision had recovered to 0.12 from the index in front of her eyes. Due to mild corneal edema, the doctor advised her to take medicine on time after returning home. During the follow-up visit, my grandmother's vision did not improve significantly, from the original 0.12 to 0.15, and the corneal edema had disappeared.

3. Notes

1. Closely monitor vital signs, blood pressure and blood sugar;

2. After surgery, you should pay attention to maintaining a light diet and try to avoid spicy and other irritating foods. It is recommended to eat a low-sugar, low-fat, and low-salt diet; a high-protein diet is recommended to supplement nutrition and promote recovery;

3. Pay attention to eye hygiene and eye habits, and do not overexert yourself.

4. Do not participate in high-intensity physical exercise, lift heavy objects or exercise after the operation.

5. Do not rub your eyes even if they hurt or itch. If you have eye discomfort, it is recommended to go to the hospital in time to find out the specific cause;

4. Personal insights

The doctor told us before the operation that in the treatment of senile cataracts, drug treatment is only suitable for a small number of patients with mild symptoms, no obvious vision loss, and patients who do not meet the surgical criteria, as well as patients who cannot receive surgical treatment due to systemic diseases. Therefore, in order to cure cataracts as soon as possible, surgical treatment is still very safe.

Through this experience of accompanying my grandma to treat cataracts, I have the following insights: After the elderly develop cataracts, they often confuse it with presbyopia. Therefore, once symptoms such as blurred vision occur, you should go to the hospital in time for early diagnosis and treatment. Eyes are the windows to the soul, and we should protect our eyes well. No matter what age group you are, you should pay attention to it when you find that your eyes are uncomfortable.