Expert Q&A

Dr Teresa Anthony, Consultant Ophthalmologist, on cataracts

What are cataracts?

Cataracts are a common eye condition which often result in cataract surgery and treatment. As you get older the lens inside your eye gradually changes and becomes less transparent and this affects your ability to see.

When the lens becomes cloudy, light struggles to pass directly through it and you may notice problems with your vision. A cataract is not a growth or a film growing over your eye.

What are the symptoms of cataracts?

Typical symptoms include cloudy vision, changes in colour vision, glare while driving, difficulty with reading, glasses prescription changes, double vision or ghosting of images, progressive need for brighter light for reading, recent struggle with vision at night and increased sensitivity to light.

As cataracts get worse, vision becomes more cloudy and you might notice worsening of the symptoms. The sooner you see a specialist, the better the outcome is likely to be.

What causes cataracts?

The most common reason for cataracts is growing older, when natural changes within the lens occur. Most people over the age of 65 have some changes in their lens and the majority of us will develop a cataract in time.

Other common causes of cataracts include: diabetes, medications and previous eye surgery.

How are cataracts treated?

Cataract surgery involves removing the cataractous lens and replacing it with a clear plastic artificial lens, which is called the intraocular lens implant.

The surgery is done under local anaesthetic, which in most of the