Cataracts as the Leading Cause of Blindness, Beware of Early Signs

Dream - Cataracts are one of the eye disorders that often affect people in Indonesia, especially as they age.

Cataracts can occur when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy and far from its normal clear state. Vision will become more blurred and cloudy. If left untreated, cataracts can cause blindness.

In Indonesia, the blindness rate reaches 3% and cataracts are the leading cause of blindness (81%), based on national data from the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) survey from 2014-2016 by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia (KEMENKES RI), targeting the population aged 50 years and above.

“The most common cause is aging, followed by high ultraviolet rays and sharp or blunt trauma such as being hit by a tennis ball,” said Dr. Amir Shidik, Sp. M (K), Chairman of the Eyecentric Clinic RSPJ Service Team at the Eyecentric event titled More Than Meets The Eye on Thursday, July 6, 2023.

Early Signs of Cataracts

Cataracts generally do not immediately cause blindness. The change in vision gradually becomes blurry from year to year and eventually worsens. Here are the early signs of cataracts.

“Usually, there is a complaint of blurry vision. Patients often do not dare to drive at night because when they encounter other car lights, they immediately become dazzled and their vision becomes dark,” said Dr. Amir.

Can Differ in Each Eye

Cataracts make the eyes unable to see clearly as if there is smoke obstructing the vision. The cloudiness that occurs can differ in each right and left eye.

“Patients often do not realize that they have cataracts because it develops slowly. And this can happen in both eyes or one eye may be more severe, for example, the left eye is grade one and the right eye is grade three,” said Dr. Amir.

Maintaining Healthy Eyes

If signs of cataracts start to appear, Dream Friends should immediately see a doctor to take action.

“Eyecentric provides diagnostic, treatment, management, and reconstruction solutions for all eye conditions of patients. Starting from cataract surgery, retinal disorders, glaucoma, eye tumors, dry eye clinics, and contact lens clinics,” said Dr. Susan Ananda MARS, Chief Executive Officer of RSPJ at the same event.

In addition to eye health check-ups, taking care of eye health is crucial. One way is to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

6 Ways to Maintain Eye Health, Don't Underestimate Them!

Dream - Eyes are precious assets and must always be kept healthy. In this digital era, most people don't want to take their eyes off their smartphones, laptops, or PCs.

Are you one of them, Dream Friends? Do you know that the radiation emitted by these electronic devices is harmful to eye health?

There are many problems that arise from staring at cellphone or monitor screens too often. Eye health problems are usually experienced by people over 30 years old. However

Currently, even young children are experiencing vision problems, ranging from tired eyes to the worst, burst blood vessels.

It is the exposure to radiation that is the main factor in disrupting our eye health. However, Dream Friends don't need to worry, Dream has summarized ways to maintain eye health that you can apply at home.

a. Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables

The first way to maintain eye health is to consume vegetables and fruits. Vegetables and fruits contain many vitamins that are needed by the body, especially the eyes.

Vitamin A contained in vegetables and fruits is very important for maintaining our eye health. We can consume vitamin A by eating carrots, apples, mangoes, papayas, cantaloupes, and apricots.

b. Compress with cucumber

The second way is to compress the eyes with cucumber. Staring at cellphone or monitor screens continuously will make the eyes feel dry and tired.

To overcome this problem, Dream Friends can try compressing your eyes with cucumber slices. The cool sensation will make the eyes feel refreshed and can help prevent swollen eyes and the appearance of eye bags.