See Clear

A cataract is essentially a spot on the eye that can’t be seen through. Eyes work like camera lenses, focusing light on the retina, which sits at the rear of the eye, and then recording an image that gets transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve. The lens of your eye, located behind the iris (the colored wheel of your eye) and the pupil (the black center), monitors the eye’s focus, just like a camera’s zoom, so that you can see close up and far away images with clarity.

The lens of your eye is composed of proteins and water, mainly. As people age, and eyes get older, some of that protein can begin sticking together and forming clumps that can obscure part of the eye lens. This is a cataract. And just like a smudge on the lens of a camera, a cataract interferes with image clarity, and makes being able to see properly difficult.

Cataracts tend to occur in people over the age of sixty-five. In fact, cataract surgery is the most common surgery performed on the elderly, but in middle age cataracts can still present themselves. Causes of cataracts can include free radicals that encourage aging, damage to the spine or neck, or other injury that can reduce eye movement and increase muscle stress, smoking, diabetes and high levels of blood sugar.

Symptoms of cataracts include, filmy, foggy, hazy, or fuzzy vision, seeing colors differently, sensitivity to changes in lights, issues dealing with glares, needing more light to read, double vision, or even changed depth perception.

Cataracts tend to increase in size the longer they are left alone, which means a larger and larger portion of the eye lens gets clouded by the growing spot, and vision decreases. Cataracts are not irreversible, and the earlier you are aware of the problem, the better your chances of recovery. You may also be able to help prevent your vision from worsening.

Your vision is worth protecting, so if you think you may be suffering from cataracts, see an eyecare professional.