Cataracts Treatment

Cataracts cloud the lens in the eye and may reduce your vision. For some people, this loss in vision is mild enough to get along fine with glasses or contact lenses. The time to consider treatment is when your vision has become noticeably worse and this is interfering with your everyday activities such as work and hobbies. Surgical removal of yourcataract is the only way to restore or maintain your vision.
The most common cataract operation is known as phacoemulsification. In this operation, the lens is broken down into tiny pieces which are removed through a small incision in the eye. The lens is replaced with an artificial one.

So far, no medication or diet has been found to slow down the growth of cataracts, and there is no medication that can clear a clouded lens. Wearing glasses may improve vision for people with the early stages of cataract development, but your cataract will probably get worse over time so this will provide only a temporary solution. Left untreated, the lens will eventually become so clouded that it is impossible to see any detail at all, although some light will always be distinguishable.

Cataracts typically occur in both eyes, but they are usually treated one at a time, to allow the first eye to recover. There is usually an interval of several weeks or months between each operation. Your exact length of stay in hospital will depend on the type of surgery you are having. Phacoemulsification is most often performed as a day-case, without the need for an overnight stay in hospital