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What is a cataract?
Another form of cataract is a posterior subcapsular cataract (abbreviated PSC). With this the back surface of the lens has the appearance of frost on glass. Just like frost on a windshield in the sunlight, these cataracts cause a lot of glare problems. Not only aging, but injuries, familial predisposition, other illnesses and medications can cause cataracts.
Do I need to have my cataract removed? Most of the time the only reason to remove the cataract is to improve your vision - so if your vision is adequate to do everything you need to do - then no, you don't need your cataract removed. Many people have some degree of cataract formation that is not bad enough to affect the vision. Your doctor should suggest cataract surgery only if he or she believes it would benefit you, not just because there is a cataract. However, many cataracts come on slowly, and the person doesn't realize how poor their vision has become. Often people come to cataract surgery when they can't pass their driver's license - even though they thought they were seeing well! After having the cataract removed, they then realize how poorly they were seeing. Most of the time people are aware they don't see well and want their vision improved. Sometimes a cataract is removed not to improve the vision but because it is causing another problem such as glaucoma, or because it interferes with another treatment the eye requires, such as laser surgery for diabetic retinal problems. Sometimes a cataract is not removed because there is something else the matter with the eye and removing the cataract would not help the situation.
Although your lens does enlarge as you age, it is not the size of the lens that affects the vision, but rather the loss of clarity. Therefore, size is essentially irrelevant.
What is the treatment for cataracts? Early on a change in glasses or the use of sunglasses may restore good vision. Eventually the cataracts tend to get worse and must be removed from the eye to allow clear vision. The cataract is replaced with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens, or IOL, (also called an implant) made of plexiglass, silicone or acrylic.
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A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens of the eye. The lens is the size of a chocolate M&M, and should be as clear as glass. The most common cause of cataracts is aging. As the lens ages it changes to an opal or brown color (termed a nuclear sclerotic cataract). These changes often also cause a change in eyeglass prescription. As it ages further cloudy areas develop in the lens, and clear vision is no longer possible. 
