Cataracts 


What are Cataracts?


The lens of the human eye works rather like the lens of a camera. Toward the front of the eye, the lens focuses light onto the retina at the back of the eye. Light passes through it to produce a sharp image on the retina.

When the lens of the eye becomes cloudy or opaque, light is unable to pass through and your vision is blurred. This condition is known as a cataract.

There are many misconceptions about cataracts and cataract surgery. For instance, a cataract is not a film or growth visible on the outside of the eye.

It is not caused from the over-use of the eyes, and using the eye does not make it worse.

Cataracts usually develop over a period of a few months. They are caused by the deterioration of the normal protein structure within the lens of the eye as a person ages. This makes the lens cloudy.

Most people with cataracts are healthy and have no other eye disease. However, cataract formation can also follow eye injuries, glaucoma, general medical conditions such as diabetes, the taking of certain drugs, or radiation damage.

Cataracts can occur as early as age 40 but occur mainly in people over the age of 60 years. They are the leading cause of vision loss among older adults, and they may affect up to 60% of adults over the age of 65 years.

Occasionally they may occur as a congenital defect in infants or children.