Usually, the most common symptoms of cataract are decreased vision and blurred vision; Another common phenomenon is seeing things in ghosts. In addition, there will be glare and scattering when you look at things, and there may be halo of aperture.

Is the shadow fluttering cataract or floating object?

In addition, many elderly people often ask, "There is a shadow fluttering in front of my eyes. Is this a cataract? " ? In fact, there are floating shadows, which are not cataracts. This is what we usually call floaters, that is, vitreous opacity behind the lens. This is because with the increase of people's age, the vitreous body changes from gelatinous to liquefied, and some substances will float in the vitreous body, which belongs to vitreous opacity.

How to distinguish cataract from floaters? The real cataract is turbid, and this black spot is fixed and will not flutter. In the case of strong background light, this black spot is more obvious. The most important difference between cataract and floaters is that the opacity of cataract is a fixed black spot, while the opacity of vitreous body is a swimming black spot.

What tests should I do if I suspect cataract?

When you find that you may have a cataract, you should go to the hospital. Go to the hospital for the following tests:

1, Vision: Vision examination is actually a central vision examination, that is, understanding the fovea and its corresponding system functions.

2. Clear illumination method: The distance between direct ophthalmoscope and cornea is about 10cm. When the diopter is set to +8D-+ 10D, the uniform reflection of red can be seen in the pupil under normal conditions. If the lens is cloudy, there is a shadow on the red background, and its shape is consistent with the shape of the lens opacity. Lens sclerosis and opacity can be distinguished by clear illumination, and lens sclerosis has no clear shadow. When the lens is dislocated, you can see the crescent shadow and even the fundus.

3. Oblique illumination method: focus the flashlight on the lens at a 45-degree angle, and observe whether the lens is turbid from the front. We can know whether the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the lens and the iris is widened by the projection width of the iris and the outer peripheral surface of the lens, so as to judge whether there is subluxation of the lens. Iris tremor can be seen in aphakic eyes and patients with large dislocation. When the lens is obviously turbid and opaque, the projection width of oblique iris on the lens surface indicates the opacity of the anterior cortex of the lens.

4. mydriasis examination: the lens is located behind the iris and only exposed to the central part of the lens in the pupil area. Therefore, small pupils can't understand the whole picture of the lens, so mydriasis examination must be carried out (for the elderly with glaucoma tendency, intraocular pressure should be measured before and after mydriasis, and corresponding treatment should be carried out).

Experienced ophthalmologists can make a correct diagnosis after the above examination of suspected cataract. Once you suspect that the elderly at home have cataracts, you should check and treat them as soon as possible.