iece of fruit, the capsule is the skin, the cortex isthe fleshy fruit, and the nucleus is the pit (American Academy of Ophthalmology, 10).There are various ways to help prevent cataracts, but it has been found that ifpeople would "watch their weight they might see." Evidence shows that what the scalesays really can affect a persons future. This time, research suggests that lower weightscould mean clearer vision (Wilson, 1996, 28). When scientist studied the eyes of 17, 764men for five years, they saw that the guys who were the heaviest were nearly twice aslikely to get cataracts as were the lightest guys (Archives of Opthalmology, September,1995). So considering that cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world,cutting risks in half is a big deal (Wilson, 1996). For now, it's a smart thing to eat a dietthat will keep you at a disease fighting trim weight so that the good normal eye can stayhealthy.PathophysiologyThe lens of the eye is usually transparent, so the light can pass through it. Biochemical changes may occur within the lens, or trauma may cause fiber changes thatcause the lens to become cloudy and finally opaque, thus blocking the light rays fromreaching the retina (Long, 1993, 1313). A mature cataract is one that separates easilyfrom the lens capsule. It used to be thought that a cataract had to be mature before itcould be extracted. Now they can be removed whenever the vision loss interferes with thepersons activities of daily living. Cataracts may develop in both eyes, such as with senilecataracts, but usually they do not develop at the same time (Long, 1993, 1313).Interview and Case StudyMrs. M.A. Williams, a very independent 81-year-old widowed woman, under wentcataract surgery on her left eye in 1987. She said "the right one had a small cataract on itand has not gotten any worse so I get a general check up on it once a year. My vision hasimproved to were I can read everything but fine print witho...
