Look out for cataracts!
Many of our members suffer from cataracts, which is the clouding of the lens in the eye. Cataracts can lead to a decrease in vision and can affect one or both eyes.
The risk of cataracts increases with age. The lens inside the eye works much like a camera lens, focusing light onto the retina for clear vision. It also adjusts the eye’s focus, letting us see things clearly, both up close and far away. The lens is mostly made of water and protein. Protein is arranged in a way that keeps the lens clear and allows light through. But as we age, some of the protein may clump together and start to cloud a small area of the lens, which is called a cataract. Over time the cataract may grow larger and cloud more of the lens, making it harder to see.
Symptoms to look out for:
- Cloudy, blurry, foggy or filmy vision
- Nearsightedness (in older people)
- Changes in the way you see colour
- Glare during the day (sunlight may appear too bright)
- Poor night vision (glare from oncoming headlights or lamps)
- Double vision
- Trouble with eyeglasses or contact lenses not working well
Treatment of cataracts:
When symptoms appear, you may be able to improve your vision for a while using new glasses, strong bifocals, magnification, appropriate lighting or other visual aids.
Consider surgery when your cataracts have progressed enough to seriously impair your vision and affect your daily life. Many people consider poor vision an inevitable fact of aging, but cataract surgery is a simple, relatively painless day procedure to regain vision. During the procedure, the surgeon will remove the clouded lens and in most cases replace it with a clear intraocular lens. Your doctor will numb your eye with anaesthetic. You will be awake for the procedure. The doctor may also give you medicine to help you relax. A tiny cut is made in the front of your eye. Through this, a small tool will be inserted to break up the cataract and gently suction it out. The new lens implant, which is made of plastic, silicone or acrylic, will be inserted and the incision closed. Your doctor may sew in stitches and will provide you with aftercare information.
Remember, if you have the surgery done in a day clinic or doctors’ rooms, you will not have a co-payment. If the procedure is performed in a hospital, you will be responsible for a co-payment of R1 000. Ask the Call Centre for day clinics near you when calling for authorisation!
Get your eyes checked regularly, especially if you have a family history of eye problems or chronic conditions such as diabetes.
For more information, visit the Procedure Library in the member log-in area where you will find Procedure Information Guides on this and other eye surgery topics.