Cataracts Specialist

What are cataracts?

A cataract is a clouding in your eye lens that can make it hard to see. Cataracts don't usually cause obvious external symptoms at first, but advanced cataracts can significantly interfere with vision, and may even cause blindness if untreated.

What are the symptoms of cataracts?

Cataracts may cause symptoms before your eye lens is obviously cloudy to others. Common cataract symptoms can include:

• Cloudy vision
• Blurry vision
• Double vision in one eye
• Poor night vision
• Needing brighter light to read 
• Light and glare sensitivity
• Halos surrounding lights
• Faded looking colors

It's also common for cataract sufferers to need more frequent glasses or contact lens prescription changes than they did before. Riverfront Eyecare screens you for these and other cataract symptoms during your regular comprehensive eye exams.

What causes cataracts?

Cataracts develop because of changes in the proteins within your eye lens. Normally, your eye lens is clear. The natural proteins are usually spaced evenly apart so light can move through and reach your retina. But, if those proteins drift out of place and clump together, it forms a cataract. 

The underlying reason for these internal eye changes can vary, but often, it’s related to normal aging. Traumatic eye injury, genetic disorders, extended use of steroid medications, smoking, previous eye surgery, and systemic diseases like diabetes can also cause the eye lens changes that cause cataracts. In rare instances, babies may have cataracts at birth.

How do you treat cataracts?

Treatment depends on how advanced the cataract is and how it affects your eyesight. Generally, the best treatment is early diagnosis and regular monitoring. In many cases, your Riverfront Eyecare optometrist discovers cataracts during a comprehensive exam. 

Optometrists can recognize cataracts in their early form using retinal, slit-lamp, and visual acuity exams. This means you can take action to delay cataract growth before it becomes a problem. 

Your optometrist monitors your cataract through regular eye exams and prescription changes where needed. With regular monitoring, most patients maintain good vision for many years while having cataracts.

If your cataract eventually disrupts your sight to a significant degree, your Riverfront Eyecare optometrist may recommend cataract surgery. In cataract surgery, an ophthalmologist surgically removes your eye lens and then implants an intraocular lens that contains at least one prescription to improve your vision.

Trust the cataract experts at Riverfront Eyecare for the best in dedicated care. Call either office or book an appointment online today.