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A close eye

Sarah Cammack


Sarah is a keen needleworker. Then she started to struggle with her vision. Sarah turned to her husband for advice. A good idea, as her husband is the Optometrist, Ivan Cammack.


Ivan recognised the symptoms immediately and realised that Sarah was suffering with cataract. Sarah had been struggling for a while, not only with her sewing, but also with headlight glare when driving at night and increasingly having to shield her eyes in bright sunlight. Another tell-tale sign was that Sarah had started to increase both the brightness and magnification on her i-phone. The loss of clear vision had become a real nuisance and so it was time to act.


Cataract is when the crystalline lens, which sits behind the pupil inside your eye, becomes cloudy. This leads to poor vision clarity and light scatter in the eye causing glare.


Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble with bright lights, and difficulty seeing at night. This may result in trouble driving, reading, or recognizing faces. Cataracts are most commonly due to the ageing process. They can develop at any age, but usually develop from the mid 50’s (Sarah is just 60).



Is your vision beginning to suffer?


But cataracts may also occur due to trauma or radiation exposure, be present from birth, or occur following eye surgery for other problems. Risk factors include diabetes, long-standing use of corticosteroid medication, smoking tobacco, prolonged exposure to sunlight, and alcohol.


Wearing sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat, eating leafy vegetables and fruits, and avoiding smoking may reduce the risk of developing cataracts, or slow the process. The early symptoms and vision changes that come as cataract develops may be improved with new glasses, and you may be able to delay medical treatment for several years. There will come a time when new glasses do not help. Now surgery to remove the cloudy lens and replace it with an artificial lens in the only effective treatment.


This is exactly what Sarah faced, and she was apprehensive. Who wouldn’t be fearful of an eye operation!


Ivan was able to reassure her that the risks are both minimal and treatable.


Sarah had her operation at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Including the pre- op procedures, the operation and a short time with a cup of tea and a biscuit in recovery, she was on her way home in just over two hours.


The process was quick and practically painless, with significant vision improvement. Sarah herself said that the cataract operation is ‘brainful, but not painful’.



The first image shows Sarah's eye before treatment. The second image shows Sarah's eye after treatment.


Post op, Sarah’s vision is clearer, brighter and more colourful. Her i-phone brightness and magnification is back to normal.


A course of eyedrops to aid the healing process followed. Her only frustration with the whole process was being told no strenuous activity for a couple of weeks. No problem picking up a needle however.


Like many of Ivan’s patients with cataracts, Sarah’s main observation was she wished she’d had the operation done sooner.




Autumn and winter is when you might notice issues with your eyesight. These are key times for symptoms of glare and poor vision. The low autumn sun causes glare and headlight glare will often white out the road ahead when driving.


Of course, the best way to check for a cataract is through an eye examination. Book an appointment with Ivan R Cammack and if a cataract is confirmed, they will reassure you there is nothing to fear from the operation.

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