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- What are cataracts?
- Symptoms of cataracts
- Causes of cataracts
- Prevention of cataracts
- Risk factors for cataracts
- Complications of cataracts
- When to see a doctor about cataracts
- Diagnosis of cataracts
- Conventional treatment of cataracts
- Alternative/complementary treatment of cataracts
- Living with cataracts
- Caring for someone with cataracts
There are a number of strategies that are useful for people who have cataracts:
- Caution when driving - cataracts impair vision, so it may also impair your ability to drive, if your symptoms are severe. Check with your doctor if you can drive and ensure you don't drive in poor weather, at night or when it is raining, because your vision will not be very good in these conditions. Ask your partner or other family member to drive you if you need to go anywhere in these conditions
- Eye specialist - ensure you see your eye specialist on a regular basis (as often as required). Your eye specialist can also advise if you are a suitable candidate for eye surgery to correct your vision problems or if you need special prescription glasses as a treatment option
- Glasses - since vision may be compromised, you will need to wear the glasses that the ophthalmologist or optometrist has prescribed. Vision will get worse with cataracts, so this is only a temporary solution until surgery (if that is the solution prescribed)
- Healthy diet - you must eat healthy food, such as fresh fruit (2-3 per day) and vegetables (5-7 portions a day), but especially leafy green, orange and red fruits and vegetables as they are full of the nutrients vital for eye health (lutein, zeaxanthin, betacarotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E), nuts and seeds, oily fish about 2-3 times a week (mackerel, salmon, sardines, trout, tuna), legumes most days, wholegrains, some low fat dairy, poultry and some red meat 2-3 times a week. Always try to use fresh produce and organic is better as it has more of the nutrients available in the food than non-organic
- Help from family and friends - you may need help with shopping, with housework and paying bills (and other home maintenance), so if you have any family or close friends living near you, it would be very helpful for you if you could ask them for their help with these
Further strategies that are useful for people who have cataracts:
- Proper lighting - make sure you have proper lighting in your home so that you can see better
- Special large letter appliances - you may be able to purchase some special large lettering appliances (clocks, telephones, radios) which have extra large lettering to help you read them better
- Stop smoking - it is well known that cigarette smoking is implicated as a risk factor for cataract development. Smoking damages the fine blood vessels in the retina and macular and it also robs the body of a number of the antioxidant vitamins (such as vitamin C), which are vitally necessary for the health of the eye, so if you have been diagnosed with cataracts, you must stop smoking, to reduce any further damage to the eye and worsening of symptoms and disease progression
- Travel with other people - if your vision is no longer clear, try to get your friends and family to take you out when you need to do your errands, or use a bus (or other public transport), or even find a community bus which can take you from door to door and help you too
- Use a magnifying glass to read - a good magnifying glass can help to enlarge letters so that they do not appear fuzzy, which makes them easier to read
There are a number of strategies that are useful for people who have had surgery to remove their cataracts:
- Good hygiene - always practice good hygiene after the surgery, always wash your hands before touching your eye and keep your eye clean
- Use medications prescribed - the doctor may prescribe some painkilling (and other) medications after the surgery to prevent infection of the eye and reduce pain
- Wear glasses - after the surgery, the ophthalmologist will prescribe different prescription glasses (sometimes bifocals) than before the surgery to help with both near and distant vision
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< 10: alternative treatment 12: caregiving > Last reviewed: 2 September 2007 || Last updated: 30 January 2009
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NOTE: Mega doses of any type of vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal supplement cannot cure illnesses and in fact can be very dangerous and produce toxic side effects and interfere with medicine you are taking. Always ensure you consult your doctor before taking any type of complementary supplements.
Disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. For any treatment or diagnosis of illness, please see your doctor.
