COVID-19 Policy/Procedures – please click here to see our updated news and procedures.

alarm-ringing ambulance angle2 archive arrow-down arrow-left arrow-right arrow-up at-sign baby baby2 bag binoculars book-open book2 bookmark2 bubble calendar-check calendar-empty camera2 cart chart-growth check chevron-down chevron-left chevron-right chevron-up circle-minus circle city clapboard-play clipboard-empty clipboard-text clock clock2 cloud-download cloud-windy cloud clubs cog cross crown cube youtube diamond4 diamonds drop-crossed drop2 earth ellipsis envelope-open envelope exclamation eye-dropper eye facebook file-empty fire flag2 flare foursquare gift glasses google graph hammer-wrench heart-pulse heart home instagram joystick lamp layers lifebuoy link linkedin list lock magic-wand map-marker map medal-empty menu microscope minus moon mustache-glasses paper-plane paperclip papers pen pencil pie-chart pinterest plus-circle plus power printer pushpin question rain reading receipt recycle reminder sad shield-check smartphone smile soccer spades speed-medium spotlights star-empty star-half star store sun-glasses sun tag telephone thumbs-down thumbs-up tree tumblr twitter tiktok wechat user users wheelchair write yelp youtube

Cataracts And Our Vision

Over 20 million adults age 40 and older and half of seniors 80 and older have cataracts, and that’s just in the US.

Because cataracts are so common, it’s important to know what they are, their symptoms, and how they can be treated.

The Basics Of Cataracts

Normally, the proteins inside the lenses of our eyes line up in a way that makes them completely transparent, but over time they can begin to clump together in a way that blocks light. This clump of proteins is a cataract. It doesn’t affect the rest of the eye’s anatomy, but it can dim or fully obscure vision. Cataracts are so common that they are the leading cause of blindness across the world.

Cataract Symptoms

Cataracts may only take up a small area of the eyes’ lenses when they first begin to form, and the effect isn’t that noticeable. However, over time, the following symptoms may appear:

  • Dim, blurry, or cloudy vision
  • Difficulty seeing at night
  • Light sensitivity and increased glare
  • Halo effect around lights
  • Frequent changes in corrective lense prescriptions
  • Fading or yellowing colors
  • Double vision in one eye

Causes Aside From Old Age

While advancing age is the most common risk factor for cataracts, plenty of people get them starting at age 40, and several things increase our chances of getting them, including:

  • Diabetes
  • Smoking
  • Family history of cataracts
  • UV radiation
  • High blood pressure
  • Previous eye injury or inflammation
  • Previous eye surgery
  • Obesity
  • Excessive alcohol consumption
  • Prolonged corticosteroid medication use

Now For The Good News

Eventually, glasses or contacts won’t be able to do enough to counter the effects of cataracts. Fortunately, an eye surgeon can easily remove the cataracts and restore the patient’s clear vision, and it only takes one short surgery per eye. Cataract surgery is such a low-risk, routine, and simple surgery that it is performed more frequently than any other surgery in the US — at a rate of three million surgeries per year!

Sometimes cataract surgery can even correct other vision problems, like astigmatism:

Are You Experiencing Symptoms?

If you or someone you love has been dealing with cataract symptoms, there’s no need to suffer in silence! Schedule an appointment with us so that we can start making a plan to get you or your loved one back to a life free of cloudy vision!

Thank you for being a part of our practice family!

Top image by Flickr user Adam McGuffie used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.