As a common saying goes, “old people’s machines are bad”. As we grow older, the lens gradually changes from transparent to cloudy due to oxidation and UV damage. Theoretically speaking, cataract is a disease that occurs in every old person, however, because many old people do not pay enough attention to cataract or listen to some wrong claims in the society, they fall into the treatment misunderstanding. The common cataract treatment misconceptions are mainly as follows.
Myth 1: Eye drops and eye patches can cure cataracts
Correct: Surgery is the only cure for cataracts
On the Internet, in pharmacies and on the walls of streets and alleys, advertisements promoting cataract drugs are common. Most of them claim that after using a certain drug, they can quickly eliminate cataract and regain clear vision. Some elderly people with cataracts are so convinced after reading these advertisements that they spend a lot of money to buy the drugs, or even try to cure the disease by using eye drops and eye patches. At present, there is no specific drug for cataracts. Surgery is the only effective way to treat cataracts, replacing the cloudy lens of the human eye with a high-quality artificial lens in order to finally allow cataract patients to regain clear vision.
Some eye patches claim to be able to treat cataract, glaucoma and fundus disease, which is absolutely misleading. For cataracts, such eye patches may be harmless and have a certain effect on relieving visual fatigue, but they have no exact therapeutic effect on cataracts. Cataract patients should choose a regular hospital and experienced experts to perform the surgery.
Myth 2: Surgery can only be done when you can’t see
Correct solution: late surgery will make surgery more difficult
Cataract surgery is performed by removing the cloudy lens and implanting an artificial lens to restore the patient’s vision. In the past, cataract surgery could not be done until the patient was completely blind, so some elderly people with cataracts thought, “Let’s go blind. This argument is outdated. In the past, the surgical method for senile cataract was extracapsular extraction or intracapsular extraction of cataract, and the surgery was required to be performed at the mature or near-mature stage of cataract. After the 1980s, cataract surgery has been significantly improved and is performed under a microscope, and microscopic surgical instruments are used, and the surgical techniques and methods are completely different.
Especially with the maturity of ultrasound emulsion surgery technology, surgery can be considered as long as the lens clouding affects normal life and the corrected visual acuity is below 0.5. On the contrary, waiting for surgery at a later stage, the increased hardness of the lens can cause difficulties in surgery and may lead to serious complications such as secondary glaucoma and uveitis. Early surgery can reduce trauma, and at this time the elderly have a better ability to tolerate surgical trauma, which can better ensure treatment results.
Myth 3: It is dangerous to have surgery when you are too old
Correct: Minimally invasive surgery takes only 15 minutes and can be tolerated by the elderly
Some people think that surgery is unnecessary or dangerous because they are too old to undergo surgery. In fact, the current advanced cataract surgery has basically broken through the age limit, from 100-year-old people to children as young as 3 months old. At present, advanced cataract surgery is minimally invasive, and only a few drops of eye drops are needed for anesthesia (surface anesthesia) and surgery. The IOL will unfold itself in the eye and be fixed in the capsular bag, and the surgery is complete. The entire surgery takes only 10-15 minutes, and the patient can go home to rest after the post-operative eye bag for a few days, and cannot rub the eye for four weeks after the surgery, avoid wet water in the eye, avoid heavy physical labor and prolonged head bowing, and can live a normal life after four weeks, which most senior patients can tolerate.
It is important to note that before the surgery, the surgeon usually gives the patient a general examination to exclude contraindications to the surgery. Eye examinations including visual acuity and visual function examination, intraocular pressure examination, retinal function examination, and corneal curvature examination are also performed. Some elderly patients with hypertension, diabetes and heart disease should have their blood pressure, heart function and blood sugar controlled by internal medicine within relatively normal limits before surgery can be performed. If the patient has poor cardiopulmonary function, the surgery needs to be performed under the supervision of an internist.
Myth 4: The IOL will be broken in a few years and has to be replaced again
Correct: IOLs are highly stable and can be used for a long time
Cataract patients who are ready to replace their lenses commonly ask doctors questions like, “How many years will this lens last?” “Will it last 10 years?” The artificial lens can theoretically last a lifetime. According to the report, the artificial lens materials currently used in clinical practice have a high degree of physical and chemical stability. The earliest artificial lens material is the material used to manufacture aircraft windshields during World War II. The windshield shattered and penetrated the eye during the war, remaining in the eye for a long time without inflammatory reactions or foreign body reactions. Harold Ridley, a British physician, observed this phenomenon during the treatment of eye trauma in pilots and used this material to create an artificial lens in 1949, opening up a new era in the history of human biomaterial implants. Generally speaking, the lens implanted in the patient’s eye can be used for a long time.
There are many types of IOLs available, but the most expensive ones are not the most suitable ones.
Myth 5: It may come back after surgery and need to suffer from surgery again
Correct: The recurrence rate of cataract is low and laser treatment can be done on an outpatient basis
Some cataract patients have signs of recurrence and blurred vision even after surgery, so they doubt the surgery and think, “Why suffer from surgery when it will come back after surgery? This blurred vision is caused by the clouding of the capsule membrane used to support the IOL during surgery, not by the clouding of the IOL itself.
Doubt 6: Vision can be improved after surgery
Correct: Other diseases of the eye, especially fundus lesions, may affect the treatment effect
The eye is like a precision camera, and cataract is like a problem with the lens of the camera, which can be replaced through surgery. However, the imaging of a camera is not only related to the lens, but also related to the film and so on. Some elderly people have cataracts, glaucoma, fundus disease and other eye diseases, just like the film of a camera has problems. For such patients, even if they simply change the lens (have cataract surgery), their vision may not necessarily improve after surgery due to problems with the film (fundus problems). Some patients who find that their vision is not good after surgery will question the doctor why they were not informed of the fundus problem before surgery. In fact, if the patient’s lens is too cloudy, the doctor cannot observe the fundus problem before surgery and can only find it after the lens is removed. “It’s like we have to pull the curtains back to see the view outside the window.”
Myth #7: The more eye drops you take after surgery, the better
Correct: Eye drops contain hormones, preservatives, not to be used in excess!
For antibacterial and anti-inflammatory purposes, doctors usually ask patients to take some eye drops after cataract surgery. Some patients think that eye drops can moisturize their eyes and also sterilize them, so the more drops the better, so they drop them every few minutes, only to find that their eyes swell up.
These eye drops have hormones and preservatives, and excessive use can be counterproductive. Whether to speed up the frequency of use or extend the time of use should follow medical advice. In general, eye drops should be used every 2 hours for a week after surgery, and every 1 hour from the second week onwards, for a total course of 4 weeks after surgery. The main prevention of cataract is to do a good job of antioxidant and UV protection. Drink a small amount of water several times a day no, you can eat more vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C in daily life, and you should wear sunglasses in the environment with high UV rays to reduce the damage of UV rays to your eyes.