Cataract is opacification of the normally clear crystalline lens of the eye. It can vary from small areas of cloudiness to large cloudy areas that cause a noticeable decrease in vision.
Cataracts are commonly seen in the elderly about 50-55 years of age as a result of normal aging process but are also occasionally found in young children including the new born.
It may be due to senility (in the elderly), heredity (in younger persons) injury or as a consequence of eye disease. They usually develop in both the eyes often at different rates.
The usual symptoms of cataract are blurred vision that fluctuates with changing illumination, having to hold books close to the eyes to read clearly, fatigue with the use of the eyes and glare in bright light, especially while driving at night.
Your optometrist can prescribe changes in your eye power that will help you to see better until surgery is necessary. But beyond a certain limit vision cannot be improved with spectacles. So surgery is the ultimate procedure for treating cataracts.
Currently, there is no proven method to prevent the development and progression of cataract.
When the cataracts develop to a point that your daily activities get affected and when spectacles can no longer help you to see clearly, surgery can be performed.