About Cataracts

What is a cataract?

The eye is like a camera with a lens system at the front and a photosensitive area at the back. The normal function of the lens is to focus light so that you can see sharp clear images.

• If the lens of the eye becomes cloudy it restricts the amount of light that is able to enter the eye, reducing the eyesight. The cloudy lens is the cataract.


• A cataract usually develops gradually, eventually making it difficult to carry out your daily activities.


• If the cataract is not removed, your vision usually becomes worse over time


• One or both eyes can be affected, but a cataract cannot spread from one eye to the other.

Symptoms

• Blurred vision, especially at a distance


• Colours seem faded or have a yellowish tinge


• Frequent changes required in your glasses or contact lenses


• Glare in sunlight


• Halo effect around lamps


• Difficulty seeing at dawn or dusk when the light is dim


• Cataracts are painless and do not cause itching or redness


• Reading with reading glasses and in good light is normally not affected

Treatment

The only effective treatment for a cataract is surgical removal. Cataract surgery should be considered when you are having difficulty seeing well enough to carry out normal daily activities, such as watching TV or driving.

Cataract surgery is usually performed as a day case procedure under local anaesthetic. During the operation, the cloudy lens (cataract) is replaced with an artificial lens (implant) inside your eye.