Cataract is a cloudy or opaque area in the lens of the eye. Cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil. The lens works much like a camera lens, focusing light onto the retina at the back of the eye. The lens also adjusts the eye's focus, letting us see things clearly both up close and far away. Most cataracts are related to aging. Cataracts are very common in older people. Cataract can occur in either or both eyes. It cannot spread from one eye to the other. Early on, the cataract process not only makes your lens cloudy, it also makes your lens swell a little bit. When your lens gets bigger, you become a little more near-sighted. So in the early stages of cataract, simply changing your glasses prescription will usually restore your sight. But as you continue to get older, the cataract gets more and more cloudy, and eventually not even a change in your glasses prescription will improve your sight. At that point, the only way to restore your vision is to remove the cataract.

Water and protein are used to make a cataract eye lens and they sit at the back of the iris and pupil of your eyes. The lens measures about 9-millimetre long and 4-millimetre wide and it has various layers. The outermost layer is known as capsule, which is clear and thin and it surrounds the clear soft cortex. The centre part is more arduous and it is know as the lens nucleus. The function of the lens is to focus the light onto the retina, which is located at the rear end of the eyes to endue clear vision.

Symptoms of Cataract

1.Cloudy or blurry vision

2.Problems with light, including headlights that seem too bright.

3.Faded colors.

4.Poor night vision.

5.Frequent changes in prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Cataracts cannot grow back, but sometimes a thin cloudy membrane grows behind the lens implant, making your vision blurry like the cataract did. This is not uncommon—it happens to roughly 40 percent of patients having cataract surgery. If it happens to you, a quick and simple laser treatment can be performed in the office to make a hole in the membrane for you to see through. Your doctor can help you learn more about cataracts.

Vitamins A, C E, and the minerals zinc, selenium, and lutein, one of the 600 known carotenoids, are all critical in not only helping in the prevention of cataracts, but also assisting in the prevention AMD, or age elated macular degeneration, another progressive eye condition. An ophthalmologist tests for cataracts with a complete eye examination, a slit-lamp examination, and perhaps, ultrasonography to further evaluate the opacity of the lens. If the diagnosis is cataracts, glasses and contact lenses may be able to offer temporary help. Our eyes are our vessels to life, and protecting them against cataracts, especially as we age, may be one of the most important things you can do for yourself. The next time you take one of your prescriptive medications, ask your self, what may this be doing to my eyes.