Signs That Indicate It's Time For Cataract Surgery

Learning you have cataracts isn't necessarily terrible news. Your cataracts might progress very slowly and not interfere too much with your vision for years. When they get bad enough to give you problems, they can be removed with a quick surgical procedure. While having cataracts may not be a dire situation, you should visit your eye doctor on a regular schedule to have them monitored so they can be removed when the time is right. Here are some indicators that it's getting time to have your cataracts removed.

When The Cataracts Cause Safety Issues

Cataracts lead to blurry vision and problems with glare. This can cause safety issues to arise. When your vision becomes blurry, your risk of tripping and falling increases. You may not notice things like curbs on the street or objects on the floor. It can become difficult to cook safely and take your medications. Sometimes, with early cataracts, the blurriness can be corrected with new glasses. This happens if the cataracts make you more nearsighted or farsighted. However, glasses won't do anything to get rid of the cataracts. Only surgery can do that.

Glare is another issue that can affect your safety. The glare from street lights can cause you to see halos that interfere with your ability to drive safely at night. The glare from the sun can interfere with your ability to drive safely during the day. Simply going outdoors can become dangerous due to glare from reflected sunlight that can temporarily disturb your vision. When your safety is a concern, then it's time to consider surgery.

When Your Quality Of Life Is Affected

Two other effects of cataracts are dim vision and altered depth perception. You may be able to compensate for dim vision by shining bright lights on your reading or working area, but this may not be possible at your place of employment. When the cataracts affect your ability to work, it's time to talk to your eye doctor about removing them. The cataracts can also interfere with your hobbies and reduce enjoyment of life. For instance, when there is a cataract in one eye and not the other, depth perception is altered and that can make it difficult to play golf and other sports. Dim vision and blurriness may cause you to give up reading for pleasure or knitting. Quality of life is very important so when the cataracts begin to bother you and keep you from doing the things you love, it could be time to have them removed.

With all these reasons to have cataract surgery, you may wonder why they aren't removed as soon as they are detected. It's not a routine procedure because the cataracts age at a rate that is unique to you. They could affect your vision quickly after being diagnosed or you could live the rest of your life without being bothered by them. Therefore, surgery is an individual choice that's decided upon with the help of your eye doctor. Contact a vision clinic, likethe eye center inc, for more help.


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