Overview
The lens sits behind the pupil and is normally clear. With age its proteins clump and it becomes cloudy, scattering light rather than focusing it. Vision dims, colours lose their punch, and headlights start to glare.
Cataract is the leading cause of reversible sight loss worldwide. Cataract surgery — removing the clouded lens and replacing it with a clear implant — is among the most commonly performed and most successful operations there is.
What are the common symptoms?
- Vision that has gone gradually cloudy, dim or hazy
- Glare and haloes around headlights, and difficulty driving at night
- Colours looking faded or yellowed
- Needing more light to read
- Frequent prescription changes
- Occasionally, double vision in one eye
What causes it, and who is at risk?
- Age — the overwhelming majority
- Diabetes
- Long-term steroid use
- Cumulative UV exposure, and smoking
- Previous eye injury, inflammation or surgery
- Congenital cataract, present at birth
How is it treated?
There is no drop or supplement that clears a cataract. Early on, a prescription update and better lighting are often enough; surgery follows when the cataract starts interfering with things you need to do.
- Updated glasses, anti-glare lenses and brighter task lighting in the early stages
- Day-case surgery under local anaesthetic, one eye at a time, typically under half an hour
- A choice of lens implant: standard distance, toric for astigmatism, or multifocal
- Drops for a few weeks afterwards, with vision usually settling within days
This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Only an eye care professional who has examined you can tell you what is actually going on.