Should You Seek Treatment for Cataracts?
- Posted on: Jun 30 2020
It is reasonable to expect to be able to drive comfortably at nighttime, to work at a computer or watch television without screens looking cloudy or dull. When speaking with others, either in person or on video-chat, we expect to be able to read facial cues and see details of other’s faces. For people with cataracts, each of these expectations may go out the window. Interestingly, though, changes in eyesight often occur so gradually that it takes someone pointing out that we are squinting or driving slow at night or that we aren’t doing the things we once did. It is then up to us to recognize why.
Living with Cataracts
Living with cataracts may be quite easy for several years. This is because the cloudiness on the natural lens of the eye usually happens very slowly. It also may happen only in one eye. The snail’s-pace speed of cataract development makes it easy to miss the difficulties that have occurred. Driving at night becomes more challenging because glares and halos appear around headlights and street lights. Colors lose their vibrancy. These changes don’t get noticed until it becomes difficult to engage in life in ways we once did.
Cataracts don’t need to degrade the quality of life. There is no “right timing” to see an ophthalmologist for cataract surgery. That choice is up to each individual. If you’re beginning to notice changes in your vision, especially if you also have risk factors for cataracts, now is a great time to schedule a visit to a Roholt Vision Institute near you. What are those risk factors, you ask? They include being over the age of 60, having diabetes or high blood pressure, and smoking. People who consume alcoholic beverages also have a higher risk of developing cataracts.
Candidates for Cataract Surgery
Patients often ask if they are a good candidate for cataract removal. Most people are. The procedure to remove cataracts has improved over time as techniques and technologies have been refined. Today, the procedure can be performed in the ophthalmologist’s office using a local anesthetic that is administered in the form of numbing eye drops. Using precision, the ophthalmologist creates an access point to the natural lens of the eye, uses proven technology to break the clouded lens apart, and then removes the particles quickly and gently. An intraocular lens is then situated into the same pocket the natural lens occupied. This new lens is similar in size and thickness to the natural lens, and will not develop protein accumulations in the future. This means that, once cataracts are removed, there is a very small chance that vision will ever become cloudy again.
The team at Roholt Vision Institute cares about the highest quality care. To schedule a visit with us, contact our Alliance, Canfield, or North Canton office.
Posted in: Cataract Surgery