Cataracts can be a real pain. They’re a common side effect of the normal aging process, but that doesn’t make them any less irritating. If you have cataracts, you may wonder if they’re severe enough to consider having cataract surgery to remove them. There are several ways to tell when things are bad enough that surgery becomes the best option for you.
Your Vision Becomes Extremely Foggy
The most common symptom of cataracts is vision becoming foggy. Cataracts are caused by the clouding of the crystalline lens, which in turn makes your vision cloudy. The more opaque the cloudiness is, the harder it is to see. There are eye drops to treat this symptom, but they need to be applied regularly, and sometimes they aren’t enough. Think of it like a bathroom mirror when it gets fogged up— applying eye drops is like wiping the mirror down to see again. But when there’s still steam in the bathroom, it doesn’t matter how many times you wipe down the mirror— the fog will keep coming back. When your vision becomes so cloudy you find eye drops only clear your vision for a short period of time, that’s a good time to consider surgery with Ellis Eye and Laser Medical Center to have your cataracts removed.
You Have Trouble Driving At Night
Cataracts make it difficult to see in general, but it’s especially difficult to see at night. This is because cataracts both affect your ability to see in low light and cause glare that makes car headlights almost blinding. When you find it hard to even drive at night because you can’t see well enough, this means it’s time to think about getting your cataracts treated with surgery at Ellis Eye and Laser Medical Center.
You Have Trouble Reading With Or Without Glasses
Cataracts can cause myopia, or nearsightedness even in patients who are already nearsighted or farsighted. More often than not, increased myopia will make it hard to read with or without reading glasses. You may find that before, you simply needed to put on glasses or take them off to read. Now you have trouble seeing no matter what you do. If your cataracts are making it nearly impossible to read, this is a sure sign that you need to get those cataracts removed.
Your Cataracts Affect Your Quality Of Life
When you get right down to it, the best way to tell when you need surgery is to think about how your life would improve if you got your cataracts removed. Reading and driving at night are good indicators of how cataracts affect your daily life, but depending on who you are, there could be other factors as well. If you work in a field that requires a good amount of precision, you may want to consider getting surgery when your vision becomes affected even mildly. It all depends on what you do every day, and how well your vision helps you go about your day to day life.
To learn more about cataract surgery, schedule a consultation today at Ellis Eye and Laser Medical Center to talk to one of our doctors.
