Discover essential tips and guidelines on how to take care of eyes after cataract surgery, ensuring a smooth recovery and optimal healing. Learn about post-operative care practices, including prescribed eye drops, protecting your eyes from strain and sunlight, and following your surgeon’s instructions to ensure a successful outcome. Empower yourself with the knowledge and insights on “How to take care of Eyes after Cataract Surgery?” to promote healthy vision and enhance your overall recovery experience.
What is a Cataract?
A cataract is an opacification of the eye’s natural crystalline lens that loses its transparency and becomes opaque, interfering with your vision. It causes your lens to become cloudy. The development of a cataract in the eye is common in the elderly age.
Symptoms of Cataract:
- You can have clouded, blurred, or dim vision
- Poor vision in low lighting
- Contrast sensitivity is low
- Glare and Halos at night
- Double vision
- Fading or yellowing of colours
Causes of Cataract:
Cataracts occur as one age; fibers and proteins inside the lens begin to break down, which causes cloudy vision in the eyes.
In some cases, inherited genetic disorders can increase the chances of cataracts. Other medical conditions like diabetes and long-term use of steroids can also contribute to the development of cataracts.
Some of the basic factors that can increase the risk of cataracts are:
- High BP
- Previous eye inflammation /injury
- Overexposure to sunlight
- Diabetes
- Ageing
- Excessive smoking
- Excessive intake of alcohol
Watch the full video about the care of eye after cataract surgery on Shekar Eye Hospital YouTube Channel
Types of cataracts:
- Nuclear cataracts- These are the most common types of cataracts. In this, the nucleus (the centre of the lens) gets hardened and begins to turn yellow. That’s the reason behind the difficulty to see in dim light. Also, it makes people find that their reading vision has improved because of it.
- Cortical cataracts– These cataracts scatter light, causing glare and halos while driving at night. It can cause problems for both near and far vision.
- Posterior subcapsular cataracts– These are formed near the back surface of the lens. It usually starts as a small opaque area. Bright light, decreases your vision, disturbs your reading vision, and causes glare or halos around lights at night. These are known to develop faster than other types of cataracts. It can often be seen particularly in patients on long-term steroid medications.
- Radiation cataracts– those who have received radiation treatment are highly prone to develop cataracts.
- Traumatic cataracts– Cataracts can also be caused due to an injury inside the eye.
- Congenital cataracts– These cataracts may be genetic. These may occur due to certain conditions, such as neurofibromatosis type 2, rubella, myotonic dystrophy and galactosemia. Cataracts in children, when detected, should be removed at the earliest, as it can result in irrecoverable vision loss if delayed.
What Are the Side Effects of Cataract Surgery?
Cataract surgery is one of the safest surgeries. Side effects are very rare in this surgery, but some people may face the following:
Common symptoms post-surgery:
- Discomfort
- Minimal Redness
- The gradual recovery of vision
- Mild Watery eyes
Warning Symptoms:
- Severe pain in the eyes
- Swelling and Redness
- Decreased vision
If you face any of the above warning symptoms, visit your ophthalmologist immediately.
Cataract surgery is safe, painless, and conducted all over the world. In this process, the affected lens in your eye is replaced with an artificial lens called the Intraocular lens. The surgery is quick and has a high success rate. Care of Eye after cataract surgery is a very important topic for all who have undergone this surgery and also for those who are planning for the surgery.
Now on – How to take care of Eye after Cataract Surgery? Below are some suggestions related to it.
DO’S:
- Use protective eyewear with side covers
- Take Proper Medications as prescribed by the doctor
- Antibiotics to protect eyes as prescribed by the doctor
- Use your eye shield at night for at least a week
- Eat healthy
- Minimal Exercise/Activity
DON’TS:
- Do not rub your eyes
- Avoid swimming for a few weeks
- Keep your eyes free from dirty water or dust to enter the eye for the first 2-3 weeks
- Do not read, drive and watch TV on the day of surgery
- Avoid heavy exercise and household work for the first 2-4 weeks
- Avoid chances of sneezing or vomiting right after surgery
General Eye Care:
- Do regular eye check-ups:– Eye check-ups at regular intervals can help detect cataracts and many other eye-related problems at the early stage.
- Avoid smoking: Smoking causes heart attacks, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, tuberculosis, and various types of eye diseases.
- Include fruits and vegetables in your diet: Adding different varieties of colorful fruits and vegetables to your diet ensures that you are getting many vitamins and nutrients. Besides, fruits and vegetables contain many antioxidants, which are beneficial in keeping our eyes healthy.
- Always Wear sunglasses while outside: Ultraviolet light from the sun is one of the major causes of the development of cataracts. So make sure always to wear sunglasses that block ultraviolet rays when you are outdoors.
- Reduce alcohol consumption: Excessive alcohol intake can increase the risk of cataracts, as it affects our nervous and immune systems.
Conclusion:
Post-operative care of cataract surgery is for a very short period when compared to other surgeries. But maintaining good hygiene and following the instructions for the stipulated time period is of paramount importance as the eye is an extremely sensitive organ.
Follow the above-mentioned suggestions and do not ignore the warning signs in your eye. Immediately consult with your ophthalmologist and get treated.
