Apart from aging, these are 5 causes of cataracts that you need to be aware of

Cataract is one of the degenerative diseases (due to age) in the eye that we often encounter. At the age of approximately 60 years, cataracts usually begin to form naturally due to the aging process. However, did you know that cataracts can also be caused by other things? Cataracts due to certain causes can even affect children. For more details, let's look at the five causes of cataracts in the eye below.

How are cataracts formed?

Cataracts appear in the lens of the eye, a transparent, crystalline structure that sits directly behind the pupil. This part of the eye works like a camera lens by focusing light on the retina behind the eye, where the image is recorded. The lens also adjusts the focus of the eye, allowing us to see things clearly both near and far.

The lens is made of water and protein. These proteins are arranged in a way that makes the eye's lens a clear color to allow light to pass through.

However, some proteins can clump together and start to form a cloudy cloud that covers the lens. This prevents light from entering the eye and reduces the sharpness of the image we see.

Over time, protein fog can expand to cover a large portion of the lens, giving us foggy or fuzzy vision. This is what is called a cataract. The cause of cataract formation is generally age.

Cataracts usually take years to develop. At first, you may not feel any symptoms. Only when the condition gets worse will you begin to feel cataract symptoms, such as:

• Reduced vision at night
• Vision is blurred when the light around you is too bright
• The colors you see appear paler than usual
• Circles (halos) of bright white light appear in your view
• Not strong enough to see the glare
• Your vision turns yellow or brown

What causes cataracts?

In many cases, the cause of cataracts is the aging process. This condition may start when you are 40-50 years old and can get worse around the age of 60.

However, the fact is that cataracts can also occur at a young age, around 30 years. This phenomenon of cataracts at a young age is also called early onset cataract.

This means that there are other causes that could cause you to have cataracts. The following are some of the conditions that cause cataracts:

1. Diabetes

People with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, need to be very careful about controlling blood sugar. Uncontrolled high blood sugar can lead to various complications, including cataracts in the eye.

Quoted from the American Optometric Association, people with diabetes have a greater risk of cataracts when compared to people in general.

Uncontrolled high blood sugar can cause oxidative stress (lots of free radicals) in the body, including the eyes. This can damage the eye lens which leads to cataracts.

Not only that, there is also an enzyme in the eye lens that converts sugar into sorbitol. The accumulated sorbitol can cause protein changes so that the lens becomes cloudy and cataracts appear.

2. Trauma

The next cause of cataracts is physical trauma. Trauma itself can occur if you experience an injury from a blow, puncture, or excessive pressure to the head and eye area.

Eye trauma from the impact, puncture, or pressure can cause damage to the lens tissues inside the eye. This damage can increase your risk of developing cataracts.

3. Congenital (congenital cataract)

As the name implies, congenital cataracts are cataracts that appear from birth. However, cataracts in children can also form during childhood or adolescence. This is referred to as childhood cataract .

Congenital cataracts can occur due to genetic disorders or infectious diseases during pregnancy. Several types of infections have been recorded to affect the fetal eye lens, including rubella virus, toxoplasma parasites, cytomegalovirus, varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox, and herpes simplex virus.

4. Galactosemia

Galactosemia is a hereditary disease that makes the baby's body unable to convert galactose, a special compound from carbohydrates, into glucose. As a result, galactose builds up in the blood.

Galactose is converted to galactitol, both of which accumulate in the lens of the eye. The buildup of both will draw water into the lens of your eye. If not treated immediately, the eye lens will become blurry and cause you to have cataracts.

Among babies with galactosemia, about 75 percent will develop cataracts in both eyes even in the first few weeks since birth.

5. Toxocariasis

Toxocariasis is a type of Toxocara roundworm infection that is transmitted from animals to humans. These roundworms usually come from cats or dogs. Although it is rare, toxocariasis can also occur when you eat meat from animals that have not been cooked, especially lamb or rabbit.

These dangerous worms can move and lay eggs in the human body. After that, these worms will spread to various organs of the human body, including the eye and cause cataracts.

You need to know the causes of cataracts above to determine the right cataract treatment. You can also take cataract prevention steps, according to the cause.