Cataract: Eye Care
Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
Cataract
A cataract is a clouding of the lens that interferes with vision. Think of how cloudy a pane of glass appears when it is dirty — that's how the eye's crystalline lens appears when cataract develops. It generally takes years for the lens to become foggy, but the opacity eventually causes a disabling loss of vision, either by distorting light rays or keeping them from reaching the retina at all.
Most people develop some opacity of the lens by age 60. Cataract occurs in about half of all people ages 65–74 and in about 70% of those older. Despite surgical advances, cataract remains the leading preventable cause of blindness in the world today, mainly because of limited access to health care in less developed countries.
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 As cataracts progress, your vision gradually blurs and dims. Photograph courtesy of the National Eye Institute. |
| Last updated: | June 19, 2007 |
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Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.
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