The Villa Rica Golden City and Carrollton Lions Clubs, along with the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation and the Rapha Clinic of West Georgia, held a free vision clinic on W

ednesday, July 20.   Ten qualifying patients received complete eye exams and two more had prescriptions filled for eyeglasses, which are provided at no cost through the GA Lions Lighthouse.

The successful vision clinic took place at the Rapha Clinic's office in Temple, and the vision screening equipment was transported by the GA Lions Lighthouse in its mobile van. Our own, Dr. Rothschild donated his time to perform the eye exams, along with Aerial Warren, a technician from our office. Tiffany Ellerbee, Vision Clinic Coordinator for the GA Lions Lighthouse, trained three volunteers to assist in the clinic: Villa Rica Golden City Lion Gina Brandenburg and Carrollton Lions Richard Tisinger and Paula Gillespie. Sue Brockman, executive director of the Rapha Clinic, arranged the appointments and completed paperwork for the Lighthouse in advance.

For more inforamtion on how you can schedule an appointment with the Rapha Clinic email or call us at 770-834-0212..

Dr. Woodard

A cataract is a clouding of all or part of the

normally clear lens found within your eye. It can cause distorted or blurry vision and glare from on coming cars may become more troublesome. Cataracts are most often found in people over age 55 or in someone that has had a traumatic injury to the eye.

So you ask, "Am I at risk for cataracts?" Well, as no one actually knows what causes cataracts, but there are several factors that can put you at risk for developing cataracts. Some of these factors are increasing age, heredity, injury or disease. Also, excessive exposure to ultra violet rays from the sun, cigarette smoking and using certain medications can increase your risk of forming cataracts.

When cataracts are small, they can usually be effectively treated with a new prescription for your glasses. An anti-reflective coating is very important to help reduce the glare, but ultimately, surgery is the only cure for cataracts. The cloudy lens will be removed from the eye and a new clear lens implant will replace it. Your eye doctor will determine during your annual exam if it is the right time for surgery.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms or have been diagnosed with cataracts and ready to have surgery, click here to schedule your appointment.

Dr. Woodard is a cataract surgeon and corneal specialist with OMNI eye services. He provides cataract consultations at West Georgia Eye Care and at his Atlanta location.