What are Cataracts?

An eye with CataractsIs your vision foggy or blurry? Do colors appear dull or not sharp? Do your eyes hurt when you go out in the sun? If you answered YES to these questions you may be experiencing cataracts.

A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s naturally clear lens. The lens typically becomes cloudy and has a bit of a yellowish hue to it. When the natural lens experiences this clouding effect, vision quality is diminished. Many people describe this sensation as looking through a foggy car window or a piece of wax paper. Cataracts can be burdensome especially to people who have had clear vision most of their life.

The lens in your eye is responsible for focusing light rays on the retina, which is the part of the eye that senses light and transmits these images to the brain. When the natural lens becomes cloudy light rays cannot possibly pass through.

Vision becomes blurry at this point and as the cataract develops it becomes increasingly difficult to see. Developing cataracts is part of the normal aging process. It has been stated by many eye doctors that if you live long enough you will develop cataracts.

Cataract Causes

Cataracts are caused mainly by age, trauma, heredity, and exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Cataracts can also occur as a result of eye disease, after the use of certain medications, or as a result of medical conditions such as diabetes.

  • Getting Older – Age is a major cause of developing cataracts.
  • Birth defect like abnormal conditions in the eyes of unborn babies
  • Environmental factors such as disease, toxic chemicals, medications
  • Accidents or Injuries
  • Exposure to ultraviolet light
  • Cigarette Smoking

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