Cataract is fully curable and almost everyone gets it as they age, an ophthalmologist said during an awareness campaign on cataract surgeries.
Early intervention has multiple benefits, it can prevent complications and make surgery easier.
An early surgery means one sees better and becomes more active, which in turn can ward off diseases like diabetes and hypertension, said Debasish Bhattacharya, the chairman of Disha Eye Hospitals.
"It is an eventual disease that happens with age. It is as common as the greying of hair, but this one has a cure," said Bhattacharya.
Usually, those in their 60s and 70s have cataracts, but there are people with congenital cataracts or those who develop cataracts after an eye injury. "They, too, can be cured through surgeries," said Bhattacharya.
Cataract is the clouding of the natural lens of the eye. It develops gradually and can cause blurred vision, glare, difficulty with night driving, and dull colour perception.
Bhattacharya, a veteran ophthalmologist, said most people tend to delay the surgery.
"The scale of vision loss may vary from person to person. What one has to notice is whether the haziness is progressing. If the haziness is not progressing, then surgery might be unnecessary," he said.
A timely surgery can even eliminate the need for glasses.
"There are so many intra-ocular lenses that a person who used to wear spectacles before cataract surgery will not need them after the surgery. The implanted lens will be good enough," Bhattacharya said.
Any lens, even a window pane, will, with time, not remain as clear as when it was first put. After 60, everybody will have some opacification or cloudiness of the lens, the doctor said. The surgeries remove this obstacle.
In early surgery, complications are less. The harder the cataract gets, the more difficult the surgery gets, he added.