Although glaucoma cannot yet be prevented, it can usually be stopped and controlled with treatment and medication. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes caused by damage to blood vessels in the retina and usually appears in stages. The risk of developing diabetic retinopathy is greater the longer someone has diabetes. Early detection is the best protection against vision loss, and there are effective surgical treatments. Cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye, which is normally clear.
Light can no longer pass through the lens easily, and vision becomes hazy or blurred.
The current treatment, which is safe and highly successful, is surgical removal of the lens which is usually replaced with an intraocular man-made lens. In 1990, the estimated number of persons with severe vision impairment in the U.S. was 4,293,360. Nearly 68 percent were 65 years of age or older. In 1997, the estimated number of persons with severe vision impairment in Washington was 94,241. This number will grow to 101,515 in the year 2000.