What it means
The normally clear lens behind the pupil slowly becomes cloudy, most often with age. Diabetes, smoking, sun exposure, long steroid use and eye injury raise the risk. Vision becomes blurry or dim, colors fade and glare from lights gets worse. Surgery replaces the cloudy lens with a clear artificial one.
For the nurse
After surgery, teach the client to use eye drops as ordered, wear the eye shield at night, and avoid bending over, heavy lifting, rubbing the eye and straining. Report sudden pain, vision loss or flashes of light.
At a glance
| Spanish | catarata |
|---|---|
| Also written | cataracts |
Easy to confuse with
glaucoma
An eye disease in which the optic nerve is damaged, usually with raised pressure inside the eye, leading to loss of vision.
Related terms
glaucoma
An eye disease in which the optic nerve is damaged, usually with raised pressure inside the eye, leading to loss of vision.