If you have serious visual symptoms or think that you may have an eye problem, you should see your ophthalmologist and discuss these concerns. The eye has been called the window to our soul, and in many ways it is also a window into the general health of the body. Nowhere else in the body can the internal blood vessels and a direct extension of the brain be seen so clearly during a simple examination. There are a multitude of illnesses that can be diagnosed by detecting characteristic changes in the eye. There are also a large number of eye problems that are confined to the eye itself, with no involvement of other areas in the body.
Author Cataracts A cataract is an opacity or clouding of the human lens.
If the opacity is dense enough, it will interfere with vision. Cataracts may be congenital and be present at birth or develop later during childhood, but the vast majority of cataracts develop later in life due to aging and degeneration of the natural lens proteins. The development of cataracts may be accelerated by some general systemic illnesses, such as diabetes. Smoking and excessive sunlight exposure may also hasten cataract growth. Cataract surgery may be performed at any age.