7 Signs You May Need Cataract Surgery
October 9, 2023
Is your vision blurry? Have you started finding it more challenging to do the things you love or even the most basic activities?
It can be challenging to know if you need cataract surgery. However, having cataracts doesn't necessarily mean you need cataract surgery immediately.
Many people with cataracts can get by just fine without surgery after their initial diagnosis. Part of the reason for this is because cataracts usually develop slowly. They can take many years to mature and develop, gradually worsening symptoms.
Because cataract symptoms may not appear immediately, you may wonder if cataract surgery is necessary. However, some easily recognizable signs point to a need for the procedure.
Keep reading to learn about 7 signs you may need cataract surgery!
1. Blurry Vision Is Making Routine Tasks Challenging
A cataract is a clouding of your eye's natural lens. The lens plays a pivotal role in your ability to see.
It focuses light onto your retina at the back of your eye. A cataract prevents light from focusing as it should, resulting in blurry vision.
In the early stages, a cataract may only cause mild blurriness you may not notice. It may also not have a noticeable impact on your vision.
As a cataract progresses, however, this will worsen. With time, routine tasks that you used to be able to complete with ease will become more challenging.
You may only realize how essential clear vision is to everything you do once your vision is no longer clear. Then, basic tasks like reading, cooking, and cleaning up around the house can become difficult.
Something as simple as words on a page can become fuzzy, and you may even have trouble recognizing the faces of the people you know. By removing your cataract and replacing your cloudy lens with a new, artificial lens called an intraocular lens (IOL), cataract surgery will return clarity to your world.
2. You Keep Having to Get a New Prescription
You may think all you need is a new prescription when your vision becomes blurry. While this can help you to see clearly for now, it's not a permanent solution for those with cataracts.
Unfortunately, if you have cataracts, you'll continue needing more frequent changes to your prescription. When a cataract causes blurry vision, the cataract simply worsens until you remove it.
Instead of making trips to your eye doctor for a new prescription, undergoing cataract surgery is an easier way of addressing the root cause of your worsening vision. After the procedure, you'll be able to see clearly and won't have to worry about cataracts anymore.
3. You Need More Light to See
When you sit down to read or do other up-close activities, do you need brighter light than you used to? You may have even had to purchase an additional light to see an ordinary object in front of you.
While a cataract can make it hard to see in any situation, it can be more challenging if you need to see in low-light conditions. Because of the clouded area, the amount of light that reaches your eyes is diminished.
You'll need more light to see with less light reaching your eyes. Many people confuse this symptom with presbyopia, but these are two separate age-related eye conditions.
4. You're Sensitive to Light and Glare
Regarding how you perceive light, a cataract can make your vision feel like it's holding you back from living your life. While you may need more light to see, your eyes may also have increased sensitivity to light.
When you encounter a bright light, it impairs your vision and can feel uncomfortable and even painful. Glare and halos are another common occurrence with cataracts.
Experiencing these symptoms is especially evident around light sources such as headlights and traffic lights at night. Glare can range from mildly annoying to overwhelming.
Nighttime driving can become difficult and even dangerous. If it feels like you're becoming more sensitive to light, cataracts could be the culprit.
5. You're Seeing Double
Some patients with cataracts may experience double vision in one eye, which is also called diplopia. Double vision occurs because the cataract scatters light instead of focusing it precisely onto the retina.
As a result, you may see two images of a single object. While double vision is a symptom on its own, it can also cause nausea, dizziness, or discomfort. Cataract surgery can help with all of these if you're experiencing them.
6. Colors are Less Vibrant
If it feels like the world looks duller and less vibrant, it's not just you. Having cataracts can make colors lose their richness.
You may be looking at the most vibrant array of colors, but everything can look faded when you have a cataract. It can feel as if you are stuck wearing brown or yellow-tinted glasses.
Colors can also blend together, especially darker tones like purples and blues. After cataract surgery, you will no longer have to consider whether cataracts affect how you perceive colors.
Patients are amazed by how vibrant the world can be after cataract surgery. If you're tired of the world seeming muddy, cataract surgery can help!
7. You're Injuring Yourself Due to Impaired Vision
Accidents happen, but they tend to happen more often when you have a cataract interfering with your vision. They increase your risk of experiencing a fall or similar accident.
Having a cataract increases the chance that you may misjudge the distance between objects in the kitchen or miss a step on the stairs. Because of this, cataract surgery is not only a good choice for your vision but also for your overall safety and well-being.
Are you experiencing any of these signs? Cataracts may develop over many years, but you can remove them quickly by undergoing cataract surgery!
Ready to find out if you could need cataract surgery? Request your appointment at Metropolitan Ophthalmology in McLean, VA, and Chevy Chase, MD, to learn more! Isn't it time to open your eyes to the possibilities of better vision?