What causes cataracts in people?
A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil. Cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in people over age 40 and is the principal cause of blindness in the world.
Is cataract a disease?
A cataract is an eye disease in which the clear lens of the eye becomes cloudy or opaque, causing a decrease in vision.How do you get a cataract?
Cataracts occur when there is a buildup of protein in the lens that makes it cloudy. This prevents light from passing clearly through the lens, causing some loss of vision. Since new lens cells form on the outside of the lens, all the older cells are compacted into the center of the lens resulting in the cataract.
How do you treat cataracts?
The only way of treating cataracts is with an operation. This is a very common operation. Around 300,000 cataract operations are performed each year in the UK. The operation involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial plastic lens (an intraocular implant).
