A Worcester hospital has shared some tips to mark Cataract Awareness Month.

SpaMedica, the largest NHS cataract surgery provider in the country, has over 50 centres spread across the UK, including on Bridgewater Road in Worcester.

This June, as part of the awareness month, the organisation's chief executive, Dr Alex Silvester, has given his best tips to identify and combat the medical condition.

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Cataracts, identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the primary cause of impaired vision and blindness globally, affects an estimated 30 per cent of UK nationals over the age of 65 in one or both eyes.

A cataract occurs when the proteins found in the natural lens of the eye change with age, leading to the lens slowly losing its transparency and turning cloudy.

It can take months or even years for deterioration in vision to occur due to cataracts.

This can make everyday tasks like reading, driving or watching television difficult to perform, and can impact an individual's independence and overall quality of life.

Physical and mental health could also be at risk with increased chances of falls or accidents, and feelings of helplessness, frustration, and psychological disorders like anxiety and depression.

Statistics also show that women are more prone to developing cataracts than men, with 57.3 per cent of the cataract surgeries in the National Ophthalmology Database Audit 2022/23 being performed on women.

Discomfort while driving at night, efforts in watching television and reading, dazzling due to bright lights or sunlight, struggling to recognise colours, and frequent changes in spectacle or contact lens prescriptions, are common symptoms of the onset of cataracts.

Those experiencing any of these symptoms should book an eye test with an optician.

The only existing treatment for cataracts is surgery, with over 480,000 such procedures being performed in England and Wales in 2022-23.

The surgery process has three stages: a pre-operative assessment, the surgery itself, and a post-operative consultation.

Anyone wanting to learn more about the treatment options should speak to their optician or GP.