EYE

How To Preserve Your Rejuvenated Vision After Cataract Surgery : 

After cataract surgery, your vision is restored and you see amazingly well. What can you do to keep your vision from changing again?

That's a question frequently asked after successful eye surgery. Surgeons usually tell you to exercise, eat well, eliminate tobacco, control blood pressure and lipid levels, wear ultraviolet protection and stay healthy. But knowing that your aging eyes will inevitably change, is there a way to slow down that process? What will preserve good vision for the long term?

How Cataract Surgery Improves Your Vision

The Effect of Cataract Surgery: A yellowing of the eye’s natural lens prevents light rays from getting through to the retina. After a clear, artificial lens is implanted, light reaches the retina and vision is dramatically improved.

The Greatest Threat To Older Eyes

The main cause of blindness in older people of developed countries is age related macular degeneration1 (ARMD). In the United States, advanced ARMD causes 50 percent of legal blindness,2and incidence will rise as longevity increases.

Although there are multiple factors in the onset of ARMD, cumulative oxidative stress to the eye's central retina (called the macula) is considered a trigger for the disease.3

Early Prevention of Oxidative Damage Is Key

The macula is the very center of the retina.

To preserve the quality of vision achieved by cataract surgery, the focus must be on the health of the macula and prevention of macular degeneration.

The center of the macula, called the fovea, represents the central five degrees of vision and is key to reading, facial recognition and other important vision tasks. The fovea is the location of 99% of the eye's three types of cones, which allow the eye to see in color.

Three macular pigments are present in the fovea: lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin. They are thought to serve two main functions: as a naturally occurring antioxidant, and to filter short wavelength blue light.

Protect Long-Term Eye Health and Improve Short-Term Visual Function

Vision with low macular pigment vs. vision with high macular pigment.

A denser macular pigment layer will protect the retina cells under it from oxidative stress, helping to preserve vision.

In addition, short wavelength blue light scatters, which decreases the eye's contrast sensitivity and increases glare. A denser macular pigment layer blocks this harmful blue light, improving contrast sensitivity and overall quality of vision.

Improved contrast sensitivity has a positive impact on many vision tasks, such as driving in dim light or fog.

How Do I Get The Macular Pigments My Retina Needs?

Research shows that the three components in MacuHealth supplements can reduce the risk of AMD and even improve visual performance. In some cases, AMD advances so slowly that people do not notice the change in their vision. For other people, macular degeneration progresses faster and may lead to a loss of vision in one or both eyes.