What is cataracts?

What is cataracts?

• A. Inflammation of the iris
• B. Clouding of the lens
• C. Degeneration of the retina
• D. Loss of color vision

Answer: (B)

Cataracts are clouding of the lens of the eye. The lens normally stays clear to focus light onto the retina, but when its proteins clump and opacity develops, light is scattered and vision becomes blurred. This can cause glare, halos around lights, and colors that look faded. This description fits cataracts, whereas inflammation of the iris, degeneration of the retina, or loss of color vision refer to different eye problems. Cataracts most commonly come with aging but can be influenced by injury, diabetes, smoking, UV exposure, or certain medications, and the usual treatment is surgical removal of the cloudy lens with replacement by an artificial one.

Cataracts are clouding of the lens of the eye. The lens normally stays clear to focus light onto the retina, but when its proteins clump and opacity develops, light is scattered and vision becomes blurred. This can cause glare, halos around lights, and colors that look faded. This description fits cataracts, whereas inflammation of the iris, degeneration of the retina, or loss of color vision refer to different eye problems. Cataracts most commonly come with aging but can be influenced by injury, diabetes, smoking, UV exposure, or certain medications, and the usual treatment is surgical removal of the cloudy lens with replacement by an artificial one.