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When a brand new car is driven off a dealership lot, its plastic headlight lenses are clear and pristine. Over time, due to contaminants in the environment and oxidation from ultraviolet rays, those same lenses can become cloudy, yellow and opaque. Cloudy headlights can decrease visibility and potentially put drivers at risk. Similar scenarios sometimes unfold involving the human eye.
Starting around age 40, proteins in the eye may begin to break down and cause lenses to become cloudy. UV rays can be damaging to the eyes and contribute to this natural protein degradation.
While pronounced vision problems may not occur immediately, the American Academy of Ophthalmology says vision can be impaired later in life. The organization All About Vision states cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in people over age 40 and also are the principal cause of blindness in the world.
Unprotected exposure to the sun is just one contributor to cataracts. Certain medical problems, such as diabetes, also can cause cataracts. An eye injury, eye surgery or radiation treatments on the upper body also can cause cataracts, as can corticosteroids, advises the American Academy of Ophtha-lmology.
Congenital cataracts, which occur when infants are born with cataracts, may be caused by infection, injury or poor development in the womb; otherwise, they can form in childhood.
Cataracts form in various regions depending on the cause, according to All About Vision.
Types of cataracts include:
—Subcapsular cataract: A subcapsular cataract occurs at the back of the lens. People with diabetes or those who take high doses of steroid medications have a greater risk of developing this type of cataract.
—Nuclear cataract: This cataract forms in the central zone of the lens and is often associated with aging.
—Cortical cataract: This cataract is characterized by opacities that are white and wedge-like, which form on the periphery of the lens. Eventually they work to the center in a spoke-like fashion. Cortical cataracts can result from aging.
Symptoms of cataracts often can be slow to form, so people may not even notice they have cataracts until they start to block light, while others may learn of their presence during vision exams.
Cataracts may cause vision that is filmy, blurry or foggy, indicates WebMD. In older adults, nearsightedness may be attributed to cataracts. Glare, both during the day and at night, also may affect vision due to cataracts.
Double vision or changes in the way one sees color can be symptoms of cataracts as well. Eye professionals can diagnose cataracts and make recommendations on the course of treatment.
Cataract removal surgery is highly effective. More than 95 percent of people who have undergone the surgery experience improvements. Such surgeries are often performed on an outpatient basis.

DEAR ABBY: My 14-year-old daughter recently came out of the closet, and it has made my husband and me quite upset. She says she is “bicurious, pansexual and polyamorous.” She now insists everyone call her by a gender-neutral name, gave herself a side shave and dyed her hair pink after we repeatedly told her not to. She wants us to refer to her as “they” and not “she.”
Boys used to like her, and she used to have friends, but she threw it all away to be “unique.” You may think we should let her be true to herself, but in the process, she is disrespecting us and ruining her image. She thinks she’s all grown up and can do whatever she wants, and I just can’t get through to her.
She is also letting herself go. She used to be in good shape, but she quit track and field because it was a “gender-conforming” sport. She is now getting chubby, looks horrible and is depressed.
Help!
DAD WITHOUT ANSWERS

DEAR DAD: Your daughter may, indeed, be depressed. She’s at an age where she is trying to figure out who she is, and because she has lost her friends and her parents are mad at her, I can understand why.
It is very important that you not panic. Her hair will grow back; her gender identity and sexual orientation will be confirmed with time.
The most important suggestion I can offer would be to love your daughter, stop criticizing her and make an appointment for you and your husband to talk with a psychologist with expertise in adolescents. Above all, she needs the support of her parents right now.

DEAR ABBY: I met this beautiful woman online three months ago. We haven’t met in person yet, but plan to. We spend at least eight hours a day online together, and our relationship has really advanced. I know she’s real and not a “catfish” because we talk about everything. We even tell each other the L word.
My dilemma is, she has a second Facebook account and absolutely refuses to accept my friend request. She says she needs her privacy, and it’s none of my business. She also tells me her friends on that page are all male co-workers. She said she prefers to have mostly male friends in her life.
Am I wrong to be upset if she refuses to let me see that profile or be one of her friends there? Am I asking too much? I asked her what happened to transparency, but she won’t answer that question either.
What’s going on here?
STUCK ON HER IN PENNSYLVANIA

DEAR STUCK: Although you have spent a lot of time online with this woman, your relationship is still new. As your relationship proceeds, how will you feel about the fact that most of her friends are other men?
I DO think there is something going on, which is the reason she doesn’t want you to see that account. The most important question is: Do you trust her? You won’t know the answer to that until your relationship has developed further.
So stop using the L word until you know her much, much better.

DEAR ABBY: My husband of 11 years told me that when his former mother-in-law dies, he would like to go to the funeral. He was friendly with her before he married her daughter. I’m not OK with this.
What do you think?
UNUSUAL IN THE SOUTH

DEAR UNUSUAL: If your husband feels the need to pay his respects to his former mother-in-law, he should do it. And when he does, it would be nice if you were at his side, supporting him in his grief.
***
For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order “How to Be Popular.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

A temporary restraining order by a group of 11 Acadiana bar owners was denied in federal court in the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Louisiana, but there will be a hearing for a preliminary injunction on Aug. 17.
U.S. Western District Judge Robert Summerhays denied the restraining order Friday but set the hearing date at 10 a.m. Aug. 17 in Lafayette, according to KATC-TV 3.
The group, which includes Pool Do’s Sports Bar in Morgan City, had asked for the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction Thursday against Gov. John Bel Edwards and State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning to stay the governor’s mandate limiting bars to to-go or delivery service.
The move came a day after the group had filed suit against Edwards and Browning in the same court in response to the governor’s mandate.
Edwards responded to the legal action via his verified Twitter account Friday.
While he said it is “unfortunate” that bars need to be closed and he understands that it has a negative impact on many Louisianans’ livelihoods, he said that medical professionals have deemed bars an environment that contributes to the virus’ spread so much that it cannot be opened in a safe manner. He said worldwide data have shown as much and it is the White House Coronavirus Task Force’s stance, too.
“We don’t take any delight in it, but at the end of the day, we are in the midst of a public health emergency,” he tweeted. “The way we believe we will get back to where Louisiana was in the early summer without having to go back to Phase One or Shelter at Home is to mandate masks, close bars to on premises consumption and reduce crowd size.”
Politics has played a role in these bar owners’ measure, something that is “unacceptable,” Edwards said.
“It’s interesting to me that people take issue with my orders, but they never note the fact that my orders are absolutely consistent with what the White House is telling states like ours,” he said. “None of these decisions are easy. I’ve mentioned that before, but it obviously is the right thing to do.
“The worst thing we can do right now is get complacent. We have seen a few good days of news, but one or two days is not a trend. The good times WILL roll again, but we have to wear our masks, wash our hands and wave at our neighbors from six feet away.”

The Daily Review/Geoff Stoute
The fall practice period for high school sports began Monday in Louisiana, with football teams across the state allowed to hit the field for their first workout under the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s fall rules. Berwick High School was among those teams working out. Top Photo: Assistant coach Paul Gilder instructs a lineman. Bottom Photo: A receiver eyes a pass.