Cataract is an eye disease that causes quite a lot of blindness worldwide. This disease can be treated through surgery, but not a few cataract sufferers choose to treat it with cataract drugs. However, whether cataract drugs have been proven effective?
Cataracts occur when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy or no longer clear. This makes a person's vision impaired and objects seen appear blurry like seeing something through a foggy window.
The human eye lens is composed of crystalline protein, which functions to keep the lens clear. However, with age, these proteins will clump together and slowly make the lens of the eye cloudy and cloudy.
Apart from aging, there are several other factors that can also increase a person's risk of developing cataracts, including:
- Family history of cataracts
- Certain diseases or medical conditions, such as diabetes and malnutrition
- Disorders or diseases of the eye, such as eye injury, uveitis, glaucoma, and retinitis pigmentosa
- Side effects of drugs, eg corticosteroids
- Eyes that are exposed to a lot of free radicals, for example due to frequent exposure to sunlight and smoking habits or consuming alcoholic beverages
The severity of cataracts is divided into several levels, namely mild, moderate, and severe. Mild cataracts are characterized by the lens of the eye turning yellowish. At this stage, cataracts may cause only mild visual disturbances or vision may feel dim and cloudy.
In advanced stages, the lens of the eye turns yellow-brown or blackish brown and the sufferer's vision is greatly reduced.
Some Types of Cataract Drugs, How They Work, and Their Effectiveness
Cataract treatment depends on its severity. Cataracts that are already severe can only be treated through cataract surgery. Meanwhile, if the cataract is still in its early stages or is mild, this disease can be treated with the use of special glasses to help cataract sufferers see more clearly.
In addition to the use of glasses, there are several types of cataract drugs that are claimed to help overcome cataract complaints, namely:
1. Lanosterol
Lanosterol eye drops are believed to be effective as a cataract drug, especially in mild cataracts. This drug works by breaking down clumps of protein in the lens of the eye.
The results of research in the laboratory show that lanosterol can be used as a cataract drug and repair the eye lens after 6 weeks of use.
However, the effectiveness of lanosterol as a cataract drug is still not clinically proven and is still under further development by researchers. The reason is, the drug has only been tested on animals, so its effect on humans cannot be ascertained.
2. N-acetylcarnosine (NAC)
Apart from lanosterol, N-acetylcarnosine It is also claimed to cure cataracts and prevent cataracts from getting worse. Cataract medicine in the form of eye drops, this one contains protein L-carnosine synthetic which has antioxidant properties.
One of the factors that cause cataracts is long-term exposure to free radicals in the lens of the eye. Therefore, the cataract drug NAC with its antioxidant properties is believed to stop the protein clumping process in the natural lens of the eye that causes cataracts.
Like lanosterol, eye drops N-acetylcarnosine It has also not been clinically proven to be effective as a cataract drug.
3. Cyclopentolate and atropine
Cyclopentolate is eye drops that are often used before the patient performs an eye examination, while atropine eye drops are often used as eye drops for lazy eye sufferers.
Both of these drugs have the same way of working, which is to dilate the pupil of the eye and temporarily relax the eye muscles.
Cyclopentolate and atropine can also be prescribed to patients with cataracts, especially in patients who have recently undergone cataract surgery. This drug is useful for reducing pain and swelling in the eye after cataract surgery.
4. Herbal medicine
Some studies suggest that certain antioxidant-rich herbal products, such as bilberry, aloe vera, lemon, green meniran, and turmeric, can help prevent cataracts from getting worse.
Unfortunately, the clinical effectiveness of herbal medicines as cataract drugs is still in doubt. This is because the data related to the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicines as cataract drugs are still very minimal and need to be investigated further.
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that the efficacy of cataract medicine is only temporary and there is not enough evidence to prove that cataract medicine is effectively used to treat cataracts.
The only way to remove cataracts that is proven safe and effective is through surgery.
Cataract Surgery as the Most Effective Cataract Medicine
Cataract surgery is needed when the level of cloudiness of the lens is severe and causes severe vision problems that are not helped by glasses.
Cataract surgery aims to remove the cloudy lens of the cataract patient's eye and replace it with an artificial lens to improve the quality of the sufferer's vision. These artificial eye lenses are made of plastic or silicone and can be used for a lifetime.
If both eyes have cataracts, surgery is not performed on both eyes at once. Cataract surgery on one eye can only be carried out if the eye that has gone through the first operation has completely healed.
Cataract surgery is by far the most effective solution for curing cataracts. This is because there are no studies showing that cataract drugs are proven to be more effective than cataract surgery in treating cataracts.
If you or your family have cataracts and have vision problems because of it, you should consult an ophthalmologist to get the right treatment.
To determine whether cataract medication is safe and effective to use, you should also consult a doctor first if you want to use cataract medication.