Cataract and its causes

Your Eyes works a lot like a camera, using a lens to focus on an image.The lens in your eyes can become cloudy as you age, making it harder for you to see. This natural condition is known as cataract.
When your cataract interferes with your vision such that you cannot perform certain tasks with ease, a cataract procedure may be recommended. In this day procedure, usually performed under anaesthetic drops without injections around the eye, the cataract is removed and replaced with a crystal clear artificial intraocular lens (IOL). You usually can go home an hour later without a patch over the eye, and vision improves rapidly.

What causes cataracts?

Cataracts are usually due to ageing, but can be caused by:- damage to the eye from mechanical, chemical or electromagnetic radiation, systemic disease, incorrect development of the lens in utero leading to congenital cataract, inherited disorders.
However by far the most common cause is simply time.

Symptoms of cataracts

As a cataract progresses, the following may occur:- Cloudy or hazy vision, decreased night vision, sensitivity to light, intolerance to glare, deterioration of far and near vision, stronger lens prescriptions for glasses no longer correct vision.