Cut Smoking, Cut Cataract Risk!

By: admin | Friday, August 15th, 2014 | Blog

Friday, August 15th, 2014

Smoking and cataract? Not a good combination. Smoking has been associated with a lot of medical diseases, and the number just keeps on increasing, even adding to the list an eye condition known as cataract. Cataract is a common medical condition in which the lens of the eyes gradually become cloudy, leading to impaired vision.

If you don’t want a future with blurry eyes, then you better cut down on the cigarettes – or you might as well decide to quit smoking entirely.

Recent researchers in Sweden have found out that cutting down on smoking can lower one’s risk for cataracts. They have concluded that among middle-aged men who puffed at least 15 sticks a day, cataract risk is lowered over a two-decade course when they quit the habit.

According to the report by Dr. Birgitta Lindblad and colleagues at Orebro University Hospital, although smoking cessation can minimize one’s risk for cataract, the risk in former smokers can persist for years. The researcher added that eye care professionals should be one with preventing smoking and cutting the habit especially among individuals who are at great risk for eye diseases.

Based on their study, which was published January this year at the JAMA Ophthalmology, men who smoke more than 15 sticks of cigarettes a day are 42 percent more at risk for undergoing cataract removal surgery than those who have never smoked in their lives. When a person quits entirely, the risk is significantly reduced according to the authors. The study further showed that after 20 years of quitting, men who had been smokers have reduced their risk for cataract removal up to 21 percent.

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However, when cataract finally affects your vision, you have to get treatment right away! Call us today at 602-258-4321 and let our cataract consultants treat your condition.