Cataracts

A cataract is an eye disease, which involves a clouding of the lens leading to hazy or blurred vision as if looking through dirty glass or a frozen window. In the developing countries, cataracts are the principal cause of blindness despite the possibilities offered by modern ways of treatment. Currently, cataracts are treated surgically, by removing the cloudy human lens and replacing it with a thin artificial lens.

Nurse: Hello, Mrs Blunt. What brings you here?

Patient: Hello, nurse. I feel my vision has got worse. As if there was some kind of fog in my left eye. It doesn’t disappear even when I put in eye drops, and I also have the feeling that the left eye doesn’t see colours as bright as the right eye. What do you think it might be?

Nurse: How old are you, Mrs Blunt?

Patient: I’m 65.

Nurse: And except for the fog, can you see well? I mean, can you see objects in sharp focus?

Patient: No, they appear blurred.

Nurse: I see. I’ll send you to the doctor straight away so he can examine you. With regard to your age, it could be a cataract.

Patient: A cataract? Oh no! My mother had it and she became blind.

Nurse: Don’t be afraid. The doctor will first check you to see what’s the problem. And even if it were a cataract, nowadays there are much better options of treatment than there used to be a few years ago.

Patient: Really? What kinds of treatment?

Nurse: The cloudy lens is removed surgically with a laser and an artificial intraocular lens is inserted in its place.

Patient: Does it mean I would have to be anaesthetised?

Nurse: No. This surgery is performed under topical anaesthesia, which means that special anaesthetic drops are applied to the cornea and conjunctiva to numb the eye, so the patient doesn’t feel any discomfort during the surgery.

Patient: I see. And how long does it take to be able to see again?

Nurse: The vision stabilises generally two to four weeks after the surgery. The doctor is available to see you, you can go in.

Patient: Thank you very much, nurse. I wonder what the examination will show.

clouding	zakalení, zamlžení
hazy	zamlžený
blurred	rozmazaný, zastřený
currently	v současnosti, v dnešní době
to replace	nahradit, vyměnit
artificial	umělý
sharp	ostrý; bystrý
straight away	okamžitě, rovnou
with regard to	vzhledem k
blind	slepý, nevidomý
to insert	vložit
nowadays	nyní, v dnešní době, dnes
to numb	znecitlivět, ochromit, zbavit citu
to wonder	říkat si, být zvědavý na; divit, podivovat se

Lekce angličtiny pro časopis Florence připravuje překladatelská agentura ACP TRADUCTERA (www.traductera.com).

 

Ilustrační foto – zdroj: senior-care-central.com

 

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