5 Signs It’s Time For Cataract Surgery

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Posted by: Missouri Eye Institute in Blog on March 25, 2019

Patients with cataracts can experience a variety of symptoms. It is important to make sure they don’t impact your quality of life. Keep reading for five signs it’s time for cataract surgery!

Your vision becomes blurry

When a patient has cataracts they can cause blurry vision. With the blurry vision can come glare from lights and dull colors.

When you go to your doctor they will do tests to figure out the thickness of your cataract. To do this, they will look at the results from glare, vision and refraction tests.

For some patients, a new prescription and pair of eyeglasses will solve issues. If you have a developed cataract, glasses and contacts will no longer correct your vision.

Blurry vision becomes dangerous when it affects your ability to drive at night. When you’re sensitive to lights, oncoming headlights may feel like they are blinding.

Being blinded while driving makes being on the road extremely dangerous! If you don’t feel comfortable driving, do yourself a favor and stop.

Cataracts are impacting your quality of life

Don’t hold off on cataract surgery if cataracts are negatively impacting your life. With vision loss, many cataract patients find themselves lonely and depressed.

It may be impossible to complete activities or hobbies you love since you can’t see. Because cataracts can develop at any time, it could even impact your job.

When cataracts feel like they are running your life, fight back! Cataract surgery is the only way to treat cataracts for good.

You can’t tell if your vision loss is because of age or cataracts

At a certain point, aging happens to all of us. And when that happens, your eyes are affected as well. Vision loss as you get older isn’t always because of cataracts.

But if you’re not sure why you’ve lost your vision, it might be time for cataract surgery. At the very least, have an eye exam! During your exam, your eye doctor can examine your eyes for signs of cataract development.

Cataracts develop because the lens in the eye thickens and proteins clump together. As these proteins move closer to each other, vision loss occurs.

You have two eye conditions and cataract surgery fixes both issues

Although it’s not as common, you can have two eye conditions at the same time. This could occur with diabetic retinopathy or age-related macular degeneration.

If you have one of these conditions and a cataract, it can make it hard to see the back of your eye. In this case, cataract surgery is the best option.

It removes your cataract and allows your eye doctor to see all your eye for treating the other condition.

You have cataracts in both eyes

If you have cataracts in both eyes, your doctor could recommend surgery for the worse eye. Often the first surgery is very successful and patients may not want surgery on the second eye.

But patients who have surgery on both eyes experience better vision. Some improvements are being able to drive, read and improved depth perception. Making your mind up about cataract surgery can be stressful and scary, but the benefits make it worth it!

Thinking you need cataract surgery? Schedule an appointment at Missouri Eye Institute in Springfield, Missouri today!