{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/what-are-cataracts-and-what-are-cataract-symptoms-vp\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/what-are-cataracts-and-what-are-cataract-symptoms-vp\/","headline":"What are cataracts and what are cataract symptoms?","name":"What are cataracts and what are cataract symptoms?","description":"In an interview, Alex Shortt explains cataracts and discusses cataract symptoms.","datePublished":"2019-10-09","dateModified":"2020-08-13","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/author\/alex-shortt\/#Person","name":"Alex Shortt","url":"https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/author\/alex-shortt\/","identifier":4667,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6afb756e1dc43ed28773098aff9af37d7e16c92671dbd22f5a9bbcb21063c139?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6afb756e1dc43ed28773098aff9af37d7e16c92671dbd22f5a9bbcb21063c139?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Alex Shortt","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/alex-shortt-logo-white-600x140-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/alex-shortt-logo-white-600x140-1.png","width":600,"height":140}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/What-are-cataracts-and-what-are-cataract-symptoms-alex-shortt-london-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/What-are-cataracts-and-what-are-cataract-symptoms-alex-shortt-london-1.jpg","height":450,"width":800},"url":"https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/what-are-cataracts-and-what-are-cataract-symptoms-vp\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H7TeuVIAghs#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H7TeuVIAghs","name":"What are cataracts and what are cataract symptoms?","description":"In this video, Alex Shortt answers all of your questions surrounding cataracts and identifying the symptoms. Everyone is born with a natural lens in their eye. For some people, as they age, this natural lens deteriorates. It can become cloudy and interfere with the patient's vision. Alex uses a model eye to demonstrate cataracts and the deterioration of vision. Please visit \/cataract\/ to learn more about cataracts. To learn more about cataract surgery, please visit our website at https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/refractive-cataract-surgery\/\n\nMy website: https:\/\/www.alexshortt.co.uk\/\nTwitter: https:\/\/twitter.com\/Alex_Shortt\nFacebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlexShorttConsultant","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/H7TeuVIAghs\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/H7TeuVIAghs\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/H7TeuVIAghs\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/H7TeuVIAghs\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/H7TeuVIAghs\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2019-01-02T16:31:44+00:00","duration":"PT2M41S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H7TeuVIAghs","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCZUjyjYPfXKxV8WVHx7-rqA#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCZUjyjYPfXKxV8WVHx7-rqA","name":"Alex Shortt","description":"","logo":{"url":"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/ytc\/AIdro_lso6QF066XazZwtWqloc_izxh7N6G8qXGEkS7aPYOur9A=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj","width":800,"height":800,"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H7TeuVIAghs#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H7TeuVIAghs#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H7TeuVIAghs&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H7TeuVIAghs#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":373}],{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H7TeuVIAghs#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_LikeAction","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}]},"about":["Cataract surgery"],"wordCount":636,"articleBody":"What are cataracts and what are cataract symptoms?Interview transcription:In an interview, Alex Shortt explains cataracts and discusses cataract symptoms.Interviewer: The first question is what are cataracts and what are their symptoms?Alex Shortt: When we\u2019re born, we have a natural lens in our eye and with time, that lens ages. And when we get to approximately age 55-65, it begins to lose transparency and becomes less clear. And as that process progresses, we start to notice blurring of vision, loss of clarity of vision, difficulty reading and also at night time we begin to see glare and halos.And all of those are symptoms of cataract; this is where the lens is losing its transparency due to age.Inside all of our eyes, we\u2019ve got a natural lens which sits in here and you can see this one is crystal clear. But what happens with ageing and also some medical conditions, it loses its transparency, and you can see this lens here is misty. And the whole lens has lost its clarity and its ability to transmit light.When you have a cataract, you\u2019ve got this misty, foggy lens inside your eye, and that\u2019s the reason why you get the deterioration of vision and the symptoms of cataract.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSearch for:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRecent Posts\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Can I wear make-up before and after laser eye surgery?\u2019\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow long does laser eye surgery last?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSMILE v LASIK v PRK – What Are the Different Types ?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCan I get laser eye surgery?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA clear look into the types of laser eye surgery in London\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTake the eye surgery self-test to see if you qualifyNot everyone is a candidate for eye surgery. Find out if laser eye surgery could help you ditch your glasses and contact lenses by taking this fast quizTAKE FAST SUITABILITY QUIZInterviewer: It happens to everyone?Alex Shortt: Unfortunately yes, but everyone\u2019s different in terms of the rate at which our body ages.The lens is made up of protein, and all of our bodies age slightly differently. There are genetic and environmental factors depending on how we\u2019ve lived our lives, how much stress our bodies have been under and also how much ultraviolet light we\u2019ve been exposed to.And UV light is very important in terms of the development of cataract, because UV light in our environment enters our eyes and is absorbed by this natural lens.And if we\u2019ve been exposed to lots and lots of UV light over our lifetimes, we\u2019ll get cataracts at an earlier time.Interviewer: Right that means people who don\u2019t wear sunglasses or people who perhaps are at high elevations, or people say in areas of the world that just have more sunlight.Alex Shortt: Yes, that\u2019s absolutely right and there\u2019s large population studies that have shown that this is the case.If you\u2019d like to know more about vision corrective surgery,\u00a0book a free initial screening\u00a0today and I will personally answer your questions. Alternatively, take our\u00a0free suitability quiz\u00a0to find out which treatment you are suitable for.Share This PostAbout the authorMr Alex J. Shortt | Consultant Ophthalmic SurgeonMB BCh MSc PhD FRCOphth PGDipCatRefI’m Alex Shortt, a highly trained academic researcher and Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon based in London\u2019s famous Harley Street medical district. I trained and worked as a consultant for 14 years at London\u2019s Moorfields Eye Hospital. I specialise in advanced technologies for correcting vision, including cataract surgery, implantable contact lenses and laser vision correction.Learn more about meGet a complimentary vision assessment todayComplete the form below to chat with a member of my team. Discover if you’re suitable for a life changing vision correction procedure\t\/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.\t   We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. *\/    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t        I consent to receive valuable and relevant e-mails\t\t\t\t\t\t                "}