Cataract Awareness

Approximately 20.5 million Americans age 40 and older have cataracts.

Cataracts are the clouding of the eye’s clear lens; like a window that is “fogged” with steam. When the lens becomes cloudy, light rays cannot pass through it easily and vision becomes blurry. Cataracts are not a growth or a film over the eye. Most cataracts are related to aging. Cataracts are very common in older people. By age 80, more than half of all americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.

Currently, there are no medications, eye drops, exercises, glasses or lasers that will cause cataracts to disappear. However, if cataracts don’t interfere with your life, you may decide that surgery is not needed.

When they do begin to interfere with daily activities, they can be treated surgically. Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgery in the United States, with more than one million performed each year. After surgery, most patients regain useful vision. Laser treatment is sometimes used after cataract surgery to remove a film that can occasionally grow on the lens implant.

Cataract surgery is usually covered by medical insurance, including Medicare.

If you think you may have a cataract, you don’t have to live with it. Talk to your eye doctor about your options.