A cataract is a clouding, or opacity of the eye’s crystalline lens or the lens capsule. When the lens becomes cloudy, light rays are prevented from entering the eye and the vision appears blurry.

Cataracts are best viewed thru a dilated pupil, although some central lens opacities are easily seen without pupilary dilation. Checking for cataracts is part of a comprehensive eye exam and is usually done after checking the vision level (visual acuity) and other preliminary tests.

Because lens opacification is a natural process, most people will have some amount of cataract formation in their lifetime. A “small” cataract means that there is minimal clouding to the lens and the vision may only be minimally affected. A ripe, or mature cataract can make the vision too blurry to see well enough to drive, watch TV, or recognize faces. And although the amount of lens clouding directly affects a person’s vision, the location of the cataract within the lens has the greatest determination of just how blurry the vision will be.

The only way to remove cataracts is by surgery. Research published in October 2008 Clinical Interventions in Aging shows evidence of the use of an eye drop called N-acetylcarnosine for reducing or treating of cataracts by helping “the aging eye to recover by improving its clarity, glare sensitivity, color perception and overall vision.” The studies main outcome measure and results indicate that “The ophthalmic drug showed potential for the nonsurgical treatment of age-related cataracts for participants after controlling for age, gender and daily activities and on a combined basis of repurchases behavior reports in more than 50,000 various cohort survivors, has been demonstrated to have a high efficacy and good tolerability for prevention and treatment of visual impairment determined for the older population with relative stable pattern of causes for blindness and visual impairment.” Other studies support this and encourage further research.

When a person’s blurry vision begins to interfere with everyday activities such as driving, working, or reading, the examining eye doctor may recommend cataract surgery. A cataract may also need to be removed in order to monitor another condition of the inside of the eye, such as the retina in diabetes or the optic nerve in glaucoma patients.