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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Augusta, Ga. – Did you know that about 20 million Americans over age 40 have cataracts? A cataract is the clouding of the eye’s normally clear lens, blocking the passage of light needed for vision.
Cataracts form easily and cause no pain. Some stay small and hardly
affect vision, but if a cataract grows and begins to affect your vision,
it can usually be removed with surgery.
In recognition of August as Cataract Awareness Month, Dr. David
Bogorad, Director, Refractive Surgery Service and cataract specialist at
MCGHealth Eye Care Center, offers these helpful facts about cataracts:
1. Cataracts are one of the leading causes of blindness around the
world; however, in most cases, vision loss from cataracts is reversible.
2. By using new techniques developed over the past decade, cataract
surgery has become one of the most successful procedures available in
terms of restoring quality of vision.
3. Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgical procedure
in the United States, with more than 1.5 million procedures performed
each year.
4. Cataract surgery is most often done as an outpatient procedure under
local or even topical anesthesia.
5. There are no drugs or exercises that will make a cataract disappear,
and contrary to popular belief, cataracts are not removed using lasers.
6. Cataract surgery is usually covered by medical insurance, including
Medicare.
7. If you have a cataract, and it does not interfere with your quality
of life, there is no need to have it removed.
A large majority of people will not begin to have symptoms until many
years after their cataracts begin to develop. Be sure to schedule
routine exams with your ophthalmologist to stay on top of your vision
health.
MCG Health, Inc. (d/b/a MCGHealth) is a not-for-profit corporation
operating the MCGHealth Medical Center, MCGHealth Children’s Medical
Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center, and related outpatient
facilities and services throughout the state. For more information,
please visit mcghealth.org.
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