Causes and Risk Factors
Traumatic Cataracts
Eye injuries, caused by sharp objects or a direct blow to the eye, can cause traumatic cataracts. Traumatic cataracts may also form as a result of a head injury near the eye, earlier eye surgery, eye inflammation, chemical burns, and electric shock.
Some scientists consider radiation a form of "slow trauma" that contributes to cataract development. Overexposure to radiation can come from numerous sources, including:
- Sunlight (ultraviolet light), which is most intense at the equator and accounts for a higher incidence of cataracts among inhabitants of lower latitudes. (Researchers expect this problem to worsen with continued depletion of the ozone layer.)
- Cosmic radiation, which particularly affects commercial airline pilots and astronauts
- Infrared (heat) radiation, usually as a result of prolonged occupational exposure (by glassblowers, for example-hence the term glassblower's cataract)
- Intense artificial light, such as that used in arc welding
- Radiation therapy near the eye
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