Cataracts are clumps of protein that build up inside the natural lens in your eye. Eventually, they cause your lens to get cloudy enough that light can no longer pass through it.
By blocking this light from entering your eye, they cause loss of vision. Cataracts are an unavoidable part of life, but their solution is a straightforward medical procedure.
Keep reading to learn more about cataract surgery and how you can get your eyesight back after cataracts have caused vision loss!
What are the Symptoms of Cataracts?
As cataracts form in the lens of your eye, they begin to affect your eyesight. Darkening vision isn’t the only thing you will experience when cataracts develop, though.
Depending on the type of cataract forming, you may experience any of the following symptoms:
- Difficulty seeing at night
- Light sensitivity
- Glare
- An increasing need for more light
- Halos appearing around light fixtures
- Fading colors
- Double vision
Cataracts are progressive and will worsen over time. But, many people can live comfortably with them for years and barely notice a change in their vision.
What Happens During Cataract Surgery?
Cataract surgery is the only way to reverse the effects of cataracts. It involves removing the afflicted lenses and replacing them with artificial ones.
These replacement lenses are intraocular lenses or IOLs. They will last the rest of your life and can restore and enhance your vision.
To implant these new lenses, the old lens has to get taken out. Your eye gets numbed before the surgery to prevent you from experiencing any pain.
Then your surgeon begins by creating an opening in your cornea. The cornea will heal on its own after the procedure without stitches or adhesive.
Once the cornea is open, your surgeon can begin removing the lens. The lens has to get broken into smaller pieces, so it is easier to remove.
Your surgeon does this using an ultrasonic probe that emits high-frequency sound. The sound waves break the lens into tiny pieces without affecting the rest of your eye.
The pieces of the natural lens then get removed using light suction. Then the IOL you selected before surgery gets placed in your eye.
Your surgeon closes the incision in your cornea, and you go home to recover. The entire procedure takes about fifteen minutes for each eye.
You will need to be careful with your eyes as you recover. But you should be able to return to most of your everyday life within a few weeks.
Can You Slow Down Cataract Development?
While developing cataracts is impossible to prevent, you can slow their progression. Leading a healthy lifestyle is the easiest way to slow them down.
Quit smoking, eat a clean diet, avoid excessive alcohol consumption and manage other diseases like diabetes. By controlling these lifestyle factors, you can slow the progression of cataracts.
Do you think it’s time to get your cataracts removed? Schedule a cataract screening atRosenthal Eye Surgery and Fifth Avenue EyeCare in Great Neck, NY. Find out if it’s time for your cataracts to come out!
