Cataracts are areas of cloudiness that develop on the lens inside your eye. This common eye condition can end up making it harder for you to see clearly as it gets worse. Knowing more about cataracts and cataract surgery can help you identify symptoms and explore your treatment options.
Causes
The aging process is among the more common causes of cataracts. As you get older, the lens in your eye can develop cloudiness, causing cataracts to form. However, there are other possible causes of this eye condition. You can have cataracts occur if you have had eye injuries that affect the tissue in your lens.
Certain risk factors can also raise your risk of developing cataracts. These risk factors include getting older, having diabetes, being a smoker, too much sunlight exposure, corticosteroid use, and previous eye surgery or eye injuries.
Symptoms
When you have cataracts, you’re unlikely to experience noticeable symptoms at first. Cataracts can take a long time to develop, and they usually do so without causing any pain or discomfort. As they worsen, you might begin to experience cataract symptoms. Common symptoms include blurry vision and increased sensitivity to sunlight and other sources of light.
You might see more glare and have double vision that affects one eye. As cataracts become more widespread or thicker, you might also have to update your contact lens or glasses prescriptions more often. Colors might also have a yellowing or faded look, and you might have poor night vision.
Treatment
When cataracts start affecting your vision, treatment options are available. You can take steps at home that might help, such as using better lighting for reading. Professional treatments from a cataract specialist in Jacksonville, FL can also help restore your vision.
At Florida Eye Specialists, our surgeons have performed over 35,000 cataract procedures, including over 6,500 laser-assisted cataract surgeries. We are the first eye specialist practice in Northeast Florida to have introduced laser cataract surgery. Our state-of-the-art surgery center offers the most advanced surgical technology available.
Surgery
Traditional and laser surgery are treatment options that can help when you have vision problems due to cataracts. While both methods of surgery use ultrasonic energy to break-up and remove the cataract, there may be some additional advantages of using laser technology to assist with cataract surgery.
Laser surgery uses a femtosecond laser, to more precisely form some of the micro-incisions, and to pre-sculpt or pre-divide the cataract into smaller pieces. It can also be used to correct astigmatism, to help reduce some of the need for glasses. Once the natural lens has been removed, surgeons replace it with an artificial one. Lens options include multifocal, monofocal, or toric (astigmatism-correcting) lenses.
Cataract surgery offers an effective way to improve your vision. If you have cataracts that are affecting your vision, searching for a ‘cataract surgeon near me’ can help. Schedule an appointment with the cataract specialists at Florida Eye Specialists today.