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Cataracts
Cataracts and Your Eyes
A cataract is a clouding of the lens inside the eye that can impair vision. More than half of all Americans age 60 and older have cataracts in their eyes, but even small children can have can have cataracts. Other factors that can increase a person's risk of developing cataracts include cigarette smoke, air pollution, and heavy alcohol consumption.
How Are Cataracts Diagnosed?
A series of tests can be performed by your eye doctor. An eye exam will be given to test how well you can see (remember to bring your glasses or wear your contacts to the appointment). Your doctor will also dilate your pupil in order to examine the condition of the lens and other parts of the eye.
What Causes Cataracts?
The eye functions much like a camera. Light rays enter through the front of the eye, passing through the cornea, the pupil, and the aqueous humor -- transparent fluid in the front of the eye -- onto the lens. The lens then bends light rays to focus objects onto the retina in the back of the eye. From there, the retina, the optic nerve, and the brain process the images and form vision.
Cataracts occur when there is a buildup of protein in the lens that makes it cloudy. This prevents light from passing through a normally clear lens, causing some loss of vision. No one knows what causes the buildup of protein responsible for clouding the lens. The cataract is a lens that has become clouded.
Types of cataracts include:
- Age-related cataracts. As the name suggests, this type of cataract develops as a result of aging.
- Congenital cataracts. Babies are sometimes born with cataracts as a result of an infection they had before they were born, or they may develop during childhood.
- Secondary cataracts. These may develop as a result of other diseases, like diabetes, or long-term exposure to toxic substances, certain medications (such as corticosteroids or diuretics), ultraviolet light, and radiation.
- Traumatic cataracts. These can form after injury to the eye.
 What Are the Symptoms of Cataracts?
Cataracts are unpredictable and can cause visual impairment such as:
- Vision that is cloudy, blurry, foggy or filmy.
- Sudden nearsightedness.
- Changes in the way you see color, especially yellow and white
- Problems driving at night because oncoming headlights can cause glare, haloing,
- Problems with glare.
- Double vision.
Sudden temporary improvement in close-up vision
How Are Cataracts Treated?
The eye exam will help the doctor determine how the cataract has affected your vision. If you suffer from vision loss that impairs your daily life, you may be a candidate for cataract surgery, which involves removing the clouded lens and replacing it with an Intraocular Lens (IOL). When it comes to choosing a lens implant only you and your doctor can decide which IOL is right for you. Cataract surgery is conducted on an outpatient basis. In fact, it is the most frequently performed surgery in the U.S., with more than 1.5 million cataract surgeries done each year. Better than nine out of 10 people who have cataract surgery have improvement in vision. Talk to your doctor to see which treatment is right for you, because you have a choice.
Can Cataracts Be Prevented?
Because the exact cause of cataracts is uncertain, there is no proven method of preventing them. Because they are so common in older adults, however, it's important to have your eyes examined on a regular basis. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, people aged 40 and over should have a comprehensive eye examination every year.
People with a history of eye problems or other medical conditions that increase the risk of eye disease --such as diabetes-- should have eye exams more frequently (once a year or as recommended by your doctor).
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