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A Natural Effect of Aging
The eye's natural crystalline lens helps us focus on people and things at varying
distances. Unfortunately, as we grow older this lens often stiffens and hardens,
and without its youthful suppleness, it loses its ability to focus, creating vision
problems. This condition — for most, a natural consequence of aging - is called
presbyopia. Some people begin experiencing the early effects of presbyopia (such
as gradual loss of near vision) in their mid-40s.
As we age, these changes occurring to the natural crystalline lens can lead to the
development of cataracts. By age 65, a large percentage of us will develop a cataract,
most often typified by cloudy/fuzzy vision. With a cataract you may have difficulty
seeing in extremely bright light or low-lighted conditions.
Improving Your Vision
Developing a cataract doesn't mean a permanent loss of vision quality, or having
to give up the things you love, because cataract surgery is a safe, effective way
to improve your vision. Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgery
in the United States, with well over 2 million Americans having the procedure every
year. Performed almost exclusively on an outpatient basis, cataract surgery is microsurgery,
whereby the natural lens is removed and replaced with what is called an intraocular
lens (IOL). The procedure is highly successful and most people regain very good
distance vision, somewhere between 20/20 and 20/40.
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