Cataracts
Cataracts are one of the most common eye conditions impacting older Australians. For people who have cataracts, seeing through cataracts is like looking through a foggy window.
You may be experiencing cataracts if you have any of these symptoms:
- Blurry vision
- Trouble seeing at night
- Faded colours
- Trouble with bright lights
- Distortion or double vision
What are Cataracts?
Inside the eye, behind the coloured part (or “iris”), is a lens that is quite elastic when we are young, but which becomes less flexible with age. This lens can also go cloudy, or milky. Think of an egg white when it’s cooking. This is what a cataract is. It’s not something that grows “over the eye”, as is sometimes thought by some.
What are the risk factors for cataracts?
Risk factors include: prolonged exposure to UV light (sunlight), diabetes, smoking and alcohol.
How to prevent and slow down cataracts?
Keeping up with your general health and wearing sunglasses when outdoors is highly recommended to reduce the risk of cataracts.
How to correct cataracts?
When the lenses are too cloudy that they’re affecting quality of life, the lens can be surgically removed and replaced with a specially designed plastic lens in an operation that is very common and widely successful.
Do you think you might have Cataracts?
Book an eye examination today with our experienced optometrists to find out.