Your Eyes & Vision at Brass Eye Center
in Albany New York

To learn about cataracts and lens implants it is first necessary to have some basic knowledge about the way your eyes function. In order to see “normally” and have clear vision, light must be free to pass through the optical structures of the eye. Two structures in particular are responsible for refracting, or bending light so that it focuses properly on the retina. The first structure is the cornea, which is the outermost clear curved “lens” that is visible when looking at your eye from a side view. The second is called the crystalline lens, which is located behind the colored part of the eye, or the iris, and is not directly visible. The crystalline lens can be examined during your eye examination by using specialized instruments to look through the pupil, or the dark center of the iris. Both the cornea and the crystalline lens must be perfectly clear in order for you to have clear vision. If you are in pretty good health and have not had chronic eye infections, inflammation or had any trauma to your eyes, the cornea is likely to maintain its clarity throughout your life. The crystalline lens however undergoes a number of changes that progress as we age. These aging changes can affect your vision.

Upon reaching the age of 40, most patients begin to at least experience some of the visual effects that result from changes in the crystalline lens. Even patients who have had “normal” vision throughout life will notice that their vision begins to change in a several distinct ways. For most people who are between the ages of 40 and 60, the most obvious changes to our vision occur as a result of these changes in the crystalline lens.

The two most common changes that occur in the crystalline lens are:

• A loss of flexibility, called Presbyopia, which makes it harder to read and
• A loss of optical clarity, which can cause a cataract.

Brass Eye Center is conveniently located for patients seeking information about their eyes and vision as well as eye care from Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park, Cohoes, East Glenville, Loudonville, Mechanicsville, Niskyuna, Rexford, Westmere, Colonie, Half Moon and Delmar New York.