What is nuclear sclerosis bilateral?

Nuclear sclerosis appears as a bilateral bluish-grey haziness at the nucleus, or center of the lens, caused by an increase in the refractive index of that part of the lens due to its increased density. It is often confused with cataracts.

What is bilateral sclerotic cataract?

Nuclear sclerotic cataracts are most common. This form of cataract begins in the middle of the eye and hardens the eye lens. As these cataracts progress, the lens becomes cloudy and may appear yellow or brown. Distance vision is the first thing to go.

What does the pinhole eye test show?

A pinhole occluder (an opaque disc with one or more small holes) is used to determine whether reduced vision is caused by refractive error. If this is the case, the pinhole will cause an improvement in visual acuity.

Why vision improves with pinhole in nuclear sclerosis?

Optics Explained The pinhole occluder works along the same basis as pupil constriction in bright conditions causing an improvement in visual acuity. Through a smaller pupil, the effects of minor ocular irregularities—such as refractive error or paracentral cornea or lens opacities—are diminished.

Is nuclear sclerosis normal?

Nuclear sclerosis is a hardening and yellowing of the center, or nucleus, of the eye’s lens. It is a normal and natural process that occurs with age.

What is the treatment for nuclear sclerosis?

Age-related changes like nuclear sclerosis don’t require drugs or surgery. The lens hardening can impair near vision, but this can be corrected with reading glasses. If the hardening of the lens progresses to cataracts, replacing the lenses through surgery is generally safe and reverses vision loss.

How can you tell the difference between nuclear sclerosis and cataracts?

The lens of an eye with cataracts or nuclear sclerosis appears cloudy. In ambient light, a sclerotic lens has an even, pearly opacity with a grayish-to-bluish tinge. Cataracts, on the other hand, appear like whitish chunks of crushed ice that vary in size, shape and opacity.

What does improvement with pinhole mean?

If your vision improves by use of the pinhole, it is likely the front part of the eye that is causing the blurred image (the cornea or the lens). If vision is not improved by the pinhole test, it is likely the back of the eye (the vitreous or the retina) that is affected.

How does a pinhole work?

A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens but with a tiny aperture (the so-called pinhole)—effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through the aperture and projects an inverted image on the opposite side of the box, which is known as the camera obscura effect.

What causes sclerosis of the eye?

Nuclear sclerosis is caused by proteins in your lens that naturally break down over time. They clump together, in this case, causing hardening that impedes light from passing through the center of the lens to the retina.

At what age does nuclear sclerosis start in humans?

The most common age-related eye change is nuclear sclerosis (also called lenticular sclerosis). In humans, this same change is called presbyopia (and begins around 40 years of age). Nuclear sclerosis is a gradual hardening or compacting of the lens fibers with age.

What can cause nuclear sclerosis?