EP #15: Deconstructing Cataracts: Causes, Medications, and Holistic Health Approaches

Have you ever stopped to consider the health of your eyes? Well, kick back and join us on the Jazzy Eyes Podcast, where our host Dr. Thuy Nguyen sets the stage for an eye-opening conversation about cataracts. We illuminate the different types of cataracts, delve into their various causes and examine the influence of lifestyle and certain medications. Dr. Nguyen details how antipsychotics, heart medications, and steroids, often prescribed for autoimmune diseases, can contribute to early onset cataracts - it's a hidden side effect that's seldom discussed.

Co-host Jeremy Wolf also shares a heartfelt story about his friend's journey from being weighed down by a myriad of prescribed medications to finding healing in plant-based medicine. It's a personal anecdote that underscores the power of holistic health approaches. That being said, Dr. Nguyen clarifies that despite the potential for drugs to induce cataracts, it's crucial to remember that optometrists don't advise patients to stop their prescribed medications. Cataract surgery is a viable treatment option. So pop in those headphones and join us to gain a better understanding of the complexities of cataract causes and treatments, and the impacts of various medications and lifestyle choices on your eye health.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Jazzy Eyes podcast.
Taking care of your vision withexpert precision.
Here's your host, dr TweenNguyen.

Jeremy (00:15):
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode
of the Jazzy Eyes podcast.
I'm your co-host, jeremy Wolfe,and joined by your host, dr
Tween Nguyen.
Dr Nguyen fancy meeting youhere again so soon.

Dr. Nguyen (00:27):
Hello.

Jeremy (00:29):
We were just talking about cataracts and the various
types of cataracts, and then wewere getting into some of the
causes of cataracts.
I'd like to pick it up here.
Can you talk a little bit moreabout the various causes?
I know there's some medicationsand smoking and things of that

(00:50):
nature that could haveinfluences in that regard.
So please go from there.

Dr. Nguyen (00:54):
Yes, Before we talked about age related
cataracts, which really does itaffect people until their 50s or
60s, but there are certaincataracts that people they have
prematurely as early as 30 yearsold.
One of those cataracts can beinduced by certain medications,
like you said, such as certainantipsychotics.

(01:16):
It could be caused by someantipsychotics.

Jeremy (01:21):
What do antipsychotics have to do with the lens of the
eye?
That's so counterintuitive.

Dr. Nguyen (01:26):
It's absorbed into the bloodstream, sometimes it
can deposit on the lens and itcould trigger early cataracts.
It's just the way the bodyabsorbs it in the medication.
That goes throughout the body.

Jeremy (01:38):
Fascinating.

Dr. Nguyen (01:39):
Yes, certain antipsychotics, some heart
medications it's calledmyodurone.
Some heart medications areactually very common Cortical
steroids that's a big one.
A lot of people are on steroids, such as those that have
autoimmune diseases and stufflike that.
Most people on autoimmunediseases.
They're put on long termsteroids and that can trigger

(02:01):
early cataracts, as well astamoxifen, which is a breast
cancer drug.
Yes, actually very common drugsthat are still used today.

Jeremy (02:13):
It's such a shame how so many of the medications out
there lead to other side effectsthat, in many cases, can be
worse than the actual thing thatit's trying to treat.

Dr. Nguyen (02:23):
Yes, when you listen to those drug commercials,
there's a very long list of sideeffects at the very end.

Jeremy (02:29):
Oh man, Cataracts is one of them.

Dr. Nguyen (02:30):
Yes, yes, you said smoking.
Smoking is bad for everything.
Every system in the body iswhat smoking is bad for.
It could trigger earlycataracts too, just because of
the amount of free radicals thatit produces.
When you smoke damages yourlenses.

Jeremy (02:47):
Something about medications.
I have my best friend.
He was on 15 differentpharmaceutical meds.
He had a rare autoimmunedisorder.
He was told that if he stoppedtaking these medications he
could die.
He was on prednis.
He was on so many differentthings.
He was miserable, he wassuicidal.

(03:08):
He got into plant medicines andthat whole holistic space.
He went down the rabbit holeand today he is off every
medication.

Dr. Nguyen (03:20):
Good for him His autoimmune disease is cured.

Jeremy (03:24):
He's devoted his life to helping people in that regard.
Obviously, there's definitely aplace for a lot of these
medications, but I think that inour society doctors are too
quick to prescribe these thingsas a quick fix and it causes
oftentimes many other problems.
It just masks the underlyingsymptoms in a lot of cases.

(03:45):
It's important to bringawareness to that.

Dr. Nguyen (03:49):
Holistic medication is definitely finding its place
now, especially after COVID andeverything like that.
Obviously, even if you have theonset of cataract, we're not
going to tell you, hey, youshould stop your medications.
It's not cataract surgery issomething that can be treated
with surgery.
But we're not going to go belike, hey, you have an
autoimmune system, you're takingsteroids, stop taking the
steroids.
It's not our place as anoptometrist to say you should

(04:10):
stop taking your steroids, ofcourse, of course.
Go talk to your doctor and seewhat they can do about it.

Jeremy (04:17):
Yeah, Now it's my place to share my plant medicine
journeys with folks to get themto open up to that.
I'm a licensed professional.
Of course, I wanted to also askyou you said there's surgery
available.
Dr Falco mentioned about howit's done, sometimes in
conjunction with a laser, butalso with actually cutting.

(04:38):
That creates a little bit ofapprehension or anxiety for me.
Is that surgery?
I'd imagine it's pretty dangsafe, right.

Dr. Nguyen (04:48):
It's very safe.
You are kind of in a twilightzone where you're not completely
asleep.
But you're in twilight zone.
They do a little cut where yourcornea is and they kind of they
cut up the lens.
They stick up an instrumentthat actually has those I forgot
what they're called, butthey're sound waves that help

(05:09):
cut up the lens inside the eyesand suck it up.
So that's cataract surgery in anutshell and actually surgery.
It's not cataract surgery inparticular, but certain other
eye surgeries can also inducecataracts.
Sometimes when the physician isin there, what the in the eye
doing surgery?
Sometimes the tool can nick orkind of rip the bag of the

(05:31):
cataract a little bit and thatspirals into cataract, early
cataract formation.
So sometimes eye surgery canalso cause cataracts prematurely
.
Interesting Cataract surgery toremove a different surgery.

Jeremy (05:47):
Are there any ongoing research or developments in
cataract treatment in terms of,I guess, beyond the surgery, are
there any other non surgicalTreatments that are being
developed, non-invasive, orthey're not quite there yet At?

Dr. Nguyen (06:04):
the so it's actually gone better over the years.
Cataract surgery in that theIncision to take out the lens
have become becoming smaller andsmaller and smaller, and so the
recovery has been quicker.
There is no Non-invasive way oftaking out the cataracts.
There have been eye drops thathave been marketed for you to
put in your eyes and dissolvethe cataract, but really no eye

(06:25):
drop can penetrate that deepuntil the eyes that it can clear
up the cataracts.
It's just not how it reallyworks.

Jeremy (06:32):
So no, no nanotechnology on the horizon.
We're, I could.
I could see like an eye dropwhen it has nanobots inside and
you drop them in and it goes inand just cures all the cataract
right that should expand morethan I dropped.

Dr. Nguyen (06:49):
It's on the, it's on the horizon something,
something good just repaireverything in your body for you,
it should reverse aging,actually, oh, Good stuff, good
stuff.

Jeremy (07:00):
Was there anything else that you'd like to share on this
subject before we wrap up?

Dr. Nguyen (07:06):
Yeah, just just touch up on just saying other
things.
I can cause cataracts besideseverything that we mentioned.
Some people can be born withcataracts.
They're called congenitalcataracts.
It really doesn't affect thevision that much, she's just
just a unique characteristic foryou.
Another thing that can causecataracts besides the medication
, surgery, all of that is trauma.

(07:27):
Sometimes people get hit in thehead or sometimes there's
there's ocular trauma and thisresults in early formation of
cataracts and these kind ofconcussion maybe what happened?

Jeremy (07:38):
like a concussion.

Dr. Nguyen (07:40):
Yes, I can.
I can yep concussions.
Those specific cataracts areactually very unique in that
they're shaped kind of likeflowers, like petaloid.
You can actually see petals ofthe cataracts in the eye and so
it's more, it's more indicativeof trauma.
Very, very interesting wellmany types of cataracts.

Jeremy (08:04):
All right, well, we will .
We will end there, dr Newn.
Always a pleasure, always apleasure.
Well, you know I look forwardto seeing you next time.
I had a little.
I had a little cataract of thebrain there for a moment, a
little in my head.

(08:25):
It happens after a longThanksgiving week with the kids
home from school and now, on aMonday, kind of getting back to
it.

Dr. Nguyen (08:35):
So yeah, I'll excuse myself.

Jeremy (08:38):
All right, everyone.
Thanks so much for tuning inand we will look forward to see
you on the next episode of theJazzy eyes podcast.
Everyone, have a wonderful dayand take care.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
Thank you for listening to the Jazzy eyes
podcast.
For more information, visitJazzy eyes comm or contact 954
473 0100.