Page Six
THE NEW BERN MIRROR. NEW BERN. N. C.
Friday, December 24, 1971
Old-fashioned
cheer we
send your
way in
hope lhal
if brightens
np yonr Holiday!
PROFESSIONAL DRIVE
PHARMACY
WISHING ALL THE JOYS OF THE
SEASON TO OUR MANY FRIENDS.
J. W. Smith Agency
&
New Bern Insurance Agency
Christmas
Eternal peace and happiness is our
sincere hope for each of you this
holiday and all the year through.
Hayes Food Center
A cataract is a clouding of
the lens of the eye which inter
feres with vision. As a cataract
forms, the lens changes from
clear to milky white. This im
pedes the passage of light to
the retina, the tissue at the back
of the eye which transmits vis
ual impulses to the brain.
Fortunately, cataracts need
not mean blindness for most
people. Surgery to remove the
opaque lens is successful in 95
percent of cases and is possible
even in very elderly patients if
their general health is good.
Cataracts cannot be treated with
drops or other medications, and
there is no known way of pre
venting the most common form
of cataracts, those associated
with advancing age.
It is no longer necessary to
wait for a cataract to “ripen”.
In fact, an overly mature cata
ract can make extraction more
difficult. Surgery is not advisa
ble, however, for some patients
because of other eye conditions.
The timing of the operation
largely depends upon the pa
tient's particular visual require
ments. When both eyes are in
volved doctors often try to
schedule separate operations so
that the patient has the use of
one eye at all times. After re
moval of the lens, eyeglasses
enable a patient to read and to
perform his daily activities quite
normally.
Contact lenses give the best
visual correction and the possi
bility of wearing them should
be discussed with the doctor.
If there is a cataract in only
one eye and it is removed, the
images seen by ihe operated eye
and the normal eye may not
fuse. Physicians therefore some
times recommend waiting until
the cataract develops in the sec
ond eye and both lenses can be
removed.
Cataracts occur more often
among ,>eople over 55 than in
younger persons. However,
many live to an old age without
them.
Conditions other than aging
may also cause cataracts. Chil
dren are sometimes born with
them as a result of genetic or
prenatal factors. Diabetes and
other metabolic defects, radia
tion expostire, and injuries to
■the lens may cause cataracts.
Those resulting from complica
tions of other disorders are
called “secondary cataracts”.
Scientisl.s at Ihe National Eye
Institute, a component of the
National Institutes of Health,
and others supported by Insti
tute grants have learned much
abom how cataracts form. One
Institute grantee has been able
to induce in laboratory rabbits
the kind of cataract associated
with diabetes. Sub.sequently he
has been able to block the for
mation of such cataracts after
induction had begun.
Other research is underway
to identify Ihe cause of cataract
bv learning more about the
metabolism of the lens. The
goal of such research is the ulti
mate prevention of this disease.
Utah?
Utah has more than 80 natural
bridges formed by the erosion of
wind and water upon sandstone,
including 278-foot-long Rainbow
Bridge, which is a National Mon
ument.
AT THIS BLESSED TIME-
MAY JOY ABIDE WITH YOU.
NEW BERN HOBBY SHOP
JOY AT CHRISTMAS
EMMIE'S FLOWER SHOP