Cataracts

Cataracts

What are cataracts?

Cataracts are a clouding of the lens in the eye, leading to a decrease in vision.

Symptoms may include:

- Faded colours
- Blurry or double vision
- Halos around light
- Trouble or discomfort associated with bright lights
- Trouble seeing at night

This may result in issues with:

- Driving
- Reading
- Recognising faces

Cataracts can lead to other issues, including an increased risk of falling and depression. Cataracts cause 50% of all cases of blindness and 33% of visual impairment worldwide.

What are the causes and risk factors of cataracts?

Common causes include ageing, trauma, radiation exposure and complications from eye surgery. Risk factors include diabetes, smoking tobacco, prolonged exposure to sunlight, and consumption of alcohol.

What treatments are available?

Cataracts can be treated through a range of medical procedures. They can be diagnosed via an examination of the eye. If caught early, cataracts may be treated with glasses. However, if this does not help then the only effective treatment is the surgical removal of the cloudy lens and the replacement of it with an artificial lens.

Mr. Faisal Ahmed specialises in the treatment of cataracts and offers the latest extended depth of focus and multifocal intraocular lenses to give you the best chance of spectacle independence i.e. not require glasses for vision.