Wednesday, August 18, 2010

When Should I Have My Cataract Removed?

Dr. White has been know to say that everyone who lives long enough will get a cataract. Indeed, everyone who lives long enough will need cataract surgery, and the only shame of NOT having cataract surgery is that you didn't LIVE long enough! If that's the case, when is the right time to have a cataract removed?

Cataract surgery has changed dramatically over the last several decades. The very idea of when to have your cataract removed is now radically different. Remember hearing from your parents or your grandparents that someone had to wait until their cataract was "ripe" enough? In the past cataract surgery was so dicey that doctors made people wait until they were essentially blind befor agreeing to do surgery. That's not the case today.

Cataracts cause your vision to change, to become more blurry, darker, or fuzzier. Sometimes your glasses prescription starts to change frequently. You might even find yourself taking your glasses OFF to read, sometimes called "second sight". Colors may start to look strange or different. When these vision changes start to affect your daily life it's time to start to think about cataract surgery.

Different people have different problems from their cataracts. Some folks find it harder to drive, especially at night. Reading can become more difficult, and the smaller or lighter the printing the harder it gets! We often hear that our patients use the small print at the bottom of the TV screen, or the box scores on baseball or football telecasts. The most important symptom or problem is the one that's most important to YOU!

If you are older than 55 and your vision is getting blurry, or someone has told you that you might have a cataract, come on in to Skyvision Centers and let us take a look! 

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