Cataracts
An overview of Providence Health Care's services and resources for patients with cataracts.
Overview
Cataracts are a common condition that causes the natural lens within your eye to become cloudy. This prevents light from reaching your retina, the light sensing part of your eye.
At first, cataracts may not affect your sight. Over time, they can cause blurry or double vision, faded colours, or glare from lights. You may have trouble reading or seeing at night. You may also experience vision loss.
Cataracts usually develop slowly with age. The condition is more common around the age of 60.
Sometimes, cataracts develop sooner or more rapidly. This can be from:
- An eye injury
- Certain medications
- Previous eye surgeries
- Health conditions like diabetes
Diagnosis & testing
To check for cataracts, your doctor will perform a comprehensive eye exam.
This may include:
- Visual acuity test. They will test how well you can read a series of letters on an eye chart. They will test one eye at a time, with the other eye covered.
- Slit-lamp examination. They will use a special microscope called a slit lamp. It has a bright light to look at different parts of your eye for any issues.
- Retinal exam. They will put drops in your eyes to make your pupils larger. This helps them see your retina (light-sensitive tissue at the back of your eye).
Treatment & management
If your cataracts are mild, your doctor may suggest home treatments.
These include:
- Wearing anti-glare sunglasses
- Using brighter lights
- Trying magnifying lenses for reading
If your cataracts make it hard to see or do daily tasks, your doctor may recommend cataract surgery.
During surgery, an eye doctor (ophthalmologist) removes the cloudy lens. They replace it with a clear, artificial lens, called an intraocular lens (IOL). This procedure is safe and common.
Clinics that treat cataracts
Support services
Providence Health Care offers a variety of services to support those we care for. The following services may be of use or benefit to you and your families.
Support for Indigenous Peoples
The Indigenous Wellness Liaison Team is here to support your health journey. Team members offer cultural support and healthcare advocacy. Learn more below or call them at 604-682-2344,62937 or email IWL@providencehealth.bc.ca
Education & resources
Patient-centred help, resources and education about cataracts come from many sources. Some of them listed here are supplied by Providence Health Care, but other useful resources about cataracts are available from the community and from online supports.
Patient education
Useful resources
Clinical trials & research
Advances in treatments are all thanks to medical research. While participating in research is a decision you should make for yourself in consultation with your care team, there is much activity in this area so please ask us about our research programs if you’re interested.
By taking part in research, you can help us all learn more about advancing health outcomes and find better ways to help people live and thrive. While you cannot assume benefit to yourself, your participation can make a difference in improving care for future patients.
The following clinical trials are currently enrolling volunteers. Please ask your care team for more information or contact the research team listed on each study or trial. For other information about research at Providence Health Care, please visit Providence Research.
Medical & professional referrals
Urgent referrals
Please send your patient to the Providence Health Care emergency department or call the Providence switchboard at 604-682-2344 and ask for the ophthalmologist-on-call. Please forward any CT, MRI, visual fields, and discharge summaries if available.
Non-urgent outpatient consultations
Routine referrals should be sent to ophthalmologists in the community. Referrals for testing only can be faxed to 604-806-8058. We accept direct calls from patients to book eye tests after the referral is received.