Our eyes undergo many changes as we age. One prominent condition that becomes more likely as you get older is cataracts. This condition clouds your eye lens, leading to blurry or dimmed vision. Fortunately, your eye doctor near you at Eye Care Associates in Poland, Warren, Youngstown, and East Liverpool, OH, can identify and treat cataracts before they lead to significant vision loss. Learn more about cataracts and how our eye doctors can treat them below.
What Are Cataracts?
Cataracts are a relatively common eye condition that causes the lens of your eyes to become cloudy. The proteins in our lens break down and clump together as we age, forming cataracts that obstruct our vision. People with cataracts often experience blurry or dimmed vision, difficulty seeing at night, increased sensitivity to light and glare, and seeing halos around lights. Some people may also have worsening color vision or double vision in one eye. Your risk of developing this condition increases if you have diabetes, a family history of cataracts, smoke, are obese, or had a previous eye injury or surgery.
Diagnosis and Early Treatment of Cataracts
Scheduling an eye exam and vision testing with your optometrist near you is the best way to catch cataracts early on before they lead to significant vision loss. These allow us to check your eyes for cataracts and recommend treatment options to protect your eyesight. Early-stage cataracts require careful monitoring and lifestyle adjustments to slow their progression. Dietary changes, quitting smoking, and wearing sunglasses when outdoors help reduce the risk of cataracts developing. For advanced cataracts, our ophthalmologists will perform surgery to restore your vision.
Cataract Surgery
We will recommend cataract surgery if your condition significantly impacts your daily activities and safety. Our ophthalmologists will remove your clouded lens and replace it with an artificial lens. The intraocular lens permanently replaces your old lens, helping you regain visual clarity in the affected eye. In addition to treating cataracts, this surgery will correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.
Following surgery, you will experience temporary blurry vision and discomfort. We will provide eye drops and tell you how to protect your eyes as they heal. Most people have significant improvement in their vision within a week or two. You must schedule eye exams with our eye doctors to ensure your eyes heal as intended.
Restore Your Visual Clarity Today by Visiting Eye Care Associates
If you have cataracts that impact your daily life, consider contacting your “optometrist near you” at the Eye Care Associates in Poland, Warren, Youngstown, and East Liverpool, OH. We can help you manage your condition or perform surgery to help you maintain visual clarity. Call us and schedule an eye exam today at (330) 746-7691 to protect your eye and vision health.
