August Cataract Awareness Month

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is using the month of August for extra efforts in educating the public about cataracts and debunking popular myths about them.

Myth -- You can take a medication to treat cataracts.

No, there are no such medications.

Myth -- You can do eye exercises to get rid of cataracts.

No, exercises will have no effect.

Myth -- Cataracts have to "mature" or "ripen" before they can be removed.

No, they can be removed at any time,
and if cataracts are starting to interfere
with your freedom to live they way you want to live,
and do things you enjoy doing,
then now is the time to remove them.

Myth -- Cataracts are treated with a laser.

No, they are treated by removing the entire lens
and replacing it with an artificial lens.
Cataracts affect only the lens.The rest of
your eye may be perfectly healthy and normal.

Myth -- Good nutrition with vitamin supplements will prevent or treat cataracts.

Not really. In nations where poor nutrition is common,
improved diet and sometimes vitamin supplements
will help. But no studies have shown it
to be effective in the U.S.

What are cataracts?

They are small obscurities in the normally clear lens. As we grow older, the protein molecules clump together here and there, blocking some of the light entering the eye. Left untreated for long enough, they will cause blindness. There is so far no way to remove the cataracts from the lens, so the entire lens is removed. An intraocular lens (IOL) is positioned in its place, inside the same pocket behind the iris.

If you have not had your eyes checked for a few years, and you are about the age of 40, it's important to make an appointment. About 20.5 million Americans aged 40 or over have cataracts, and about 1.5 million cataract surgeries are done each year. That makes cataract surgery the most frequently performed surgery in the nation.

To find a fully-qualified and experienced eye surgeon in your area, please use the links at the bottom of this page or the drop-down menu at the top right corner.