Got it! Ophthalmologists teach you how to distinguish between cataracts and presbyopia

Are cataracts the same as presbyopia?

Doctors often encounter patients asking questions like this

P1: What is presbyopia?

If you are reading a newspaper or a book and you unconsciously tilt your head back or stretch your arms, so that you can hold the newspaper or book farther away to see clearly, or you need to face a place with better lighting to see more clearly, and you cannot maintain close vision for a long time, and your eyes become swollen and sore over time, then you may be suffering from presbyopia.

Presbyopia is also known as "visual acuity decline disease", which is directly manifested by symptoms such as blurry reading at close range, fatigue, soreness, excessive tearing, photophobia, dryness and headache. Medically, it is also called presbyopia, which is more common in people over 60 years old. The lens hardens, the elasticity decreases, the ciliary muscle contraction ability decreases, resulting in decreased accommodation, the near point moves far, and it is difficult to see objects at close range. Most people will quietly develop "presbyopia" in their eyes around the age of 40 to 45.

P2: What is cataract?

Cataract is a common blinding eye disease. It is the opacity of the lens that causes vision loss. When cataract first occurs, most elderly people have only the peripheral part of the lens cloudy while the central part remains transparent, which does not affect vision. However, as the disease progresses, lens fiber edema and interfiber fluid continue to increase, making vision worse and worse. Severe cases can cause blindness. Senile cataract is more common in people over 40 years old.

Cataract is a common blinding eye disease. It is the opacity of the lens that causes vision loss. When cataract first occurs, most elderly people have only the peripheral part of the lens cloudy while the central part remains transparent, which does not affect vision. However, as the disease progresses, lens fiber edema and interfiber fluid continue to increase, making vision worse and worse. Severe cases can cause blindness. Senile cataract is more common in people over 40 years old.

P3: How to distinguish between presbyopia and cataracts in one go?

Peng Tingting, deputy chief physician of cataract and presbyopia department at Wuhan University Aier Eye Hospital (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei General Hospital), said that if you want to distinguish between presbyopia and cataract, it all comes down to one sentence:

Cataracts make everything unclear! Presbyopia makes near things unclear, but far things are clear!

Cataracts and presbyopia are very common problems and often occur at the same time. Among the patients treated by Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University, many elderly people often mistake cataracts for presbyopia, or think that they must wait until the cataracts become "mature" before surgery. In fact, over-mature cataracts may induce serious complications such as glaucoma, increase the risk and difficulty of surgery, and affect the recovery effect after surgery.

P4: How to solve presbyopia and cataracts in one go?

If it is just presbyopia, it is easy to deal with, just wear reading glasses, but if presbyopia and cataracts exist at the same time, wearing reading glasses can solve the problem of presbyopia, but it cannot solve the problem of cataracts. So is there a way to solve presbyopia and cataracts at the same time? There really is! Huanjing cataract surgery can do it. Huanjing cataract surgery can not only treat cataracts, but also solve presbyopia, myopia, astigmatism and other eye problems at the same time. It is a blessing for people who suffer from cataracts and presbyopia or myopia at the same time.