Cataracts

CATARACTS ARE A LEADING CAUSE OF
BLINDNESS AMONG OLDER ADULTS

Yet young people and even newborns can get cataracts
The good news is that doctors can treat cataracts.
Surgery restores sight in more than 95% of cases treate

The exact cause of cataracts is unknown, most often it is a part of getting older
These factors may also play a role:
Intense heat or long-term exposure to UV rays from the sun
Certain diseases, such as diabetes
Inflammation in the eye
Events before birth, such as German measles in the mother
Long-term steroid use
Eye injuries
Eye diseases
Smoking

A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens
Normally the lens is clear, it focuses light onto the retina at the back of the eye which sends images to the brain
A cataract blocks light needed for sight
Your vision may become blurry or dim because light can’t pass properly through the lens to the retina
A cataract is not contagious

Surgery is the only treatment, cataracts cannot be treated with medicines
Eye drops or other drugs will not dissolve a cataract or slow it progress
It is a delicate operation, yet it is one of the safest operations done today
More than 95% of surgeries are successful
Most people need surgery when the cataract causes enough vision loss to interfere with work, play or other day-to-day tasks

Cataract generally does not cause pain, redness or tears. However, these changes in your vision may be signs of cataract:
Blurred vision, double vision, ghost images, the sense of a film over the eyes
Lights seem too dim for reading or close-up work, or you are dazzled by strong light
Changing eyeglass prescriptions often, but the change may not seem to help your vision
You may sometimes notice the cataract in eye. It may look like a milky or yellowish spot in the pupil (the center of your eye is normally black)
Problems seeing become more noticeable as cataracts develop
A cataract may develop quickly over months or slowly over years
Many people reach the point where surgery is necessary

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