From JournalofLifestyleMedicine.com Watch a podcast with Dr. Courtney below. Cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in people ever the age of 40. It is estimated that 22 million Americans have them and those numbers will escalate to at least 30 million by the year 2020. Worldwide there are more cases of cataracts than there are of glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy combined. So, what are cataracts and what can you do about them? Aging Takes its toll on vision The lens of the eye works very similar to the way that the lens of a camera works. Light passes through the lens and focuses the light onto the retina that is found in the back of the eye. Images are usually clear and sharp when the eye is working optimally, which it usually does for many years without any problems. The lens itself is made of mostly water and protein. As we age, some of that protein may begin clumping together and start to cloud a small area of the lens, which is known as a cataract. Over time, it begins to grow larger and cloud more of the lens making it more difficult to see. Toxic substances also accumulate in the cataract such as heavy metals like lead and cadmium and many others. These cataracts are routinely discovered during an exam with your eye doctor. The doctor typically tells the patient that the cataract will be monitored until it interferes with vision and then it will be required to be surgically removed. Very little advice is provided by the eye doctor to slow the development of the cataract and certainly no instruction on how to reverse the cataract that has already formed. Surgery: The only conventional Option The only conventional treatment for cataracts is the surgical removal of the entire lens of the eye with the insertion of an artificial lens in its place. This can have a profound improvement in vision in the short term when everything goes as planned. It should be mentioned that there are cases when the results are poor and, as a general rule, all surgery should he considered as a last resort. We are also learning that a large percentage of patients unfortunately go on to develop macular degeneration within two years of all cataract surgery, even when the surgery was completely successfully. This information is not really being brought to the attention of most patients prior to surgery, and catch many of them by surprise when they begin to lose their vision from yet another cause that they didn’t expect. THERE ARE TREATMENTS TO REVERSE CATARACTS AND PREVENT THE NEED FOR SURGERY The Pittsburgh Eye Protocol, an affiliate of Dr. Edward Kondrot Healing The Eye and Wellness Center, offers treatment programs to correct many eye diseases that can lead to loss in vision and certainly include reversing cataracts. These programs are available at our McMurray office and are offered monthly. To find out more, contact us at: Pittsburgh Eye Protocol 3075 Washington Road McMurray, PA 15317 724-942-3002 Watch a podcast with Dr. Courtney here.

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