If you live long enough, youll probably get cataracts, an inevitable consequence of getting older.
By 80, more than half of all Americans will either have cataracts or have had cataract surgery.
In the end, nearly everyone will develop them.
What happens in the eye when you have a cataract?
Imagine a broken lens on a camera.
Over time, as we age, proteins in the lens to clump together, clouding the lens.
This cloudiness, known as a cataract,gradually makes it harder to seeas it grows larger and thicker.
Cataracts usually develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes.
Unlike infections, they dont spread from one eye to the other.
What causes cataracts?
Family history also plays a role.
Because age-related cataracts generally develop over time, worsening vision may not be noticeable in the very early stages.
Its like a piece of clear plastic becomes yellowed and discolored, says Bartlett.
As new layers are added, it becomes denser and harder.
Three types of cataracts
Like an onion, the lens is composed of multiple layers.
The outermost is known as the capsule.
The layer inside the capsule is called the cortex.
And the innermost layer is the nucleus.
The three types of cataracts are named for their location in the lens:
