Cataracts

Why do cataracts develop?

A cataract is cloudiness in the eye lens, the clear dome-shaped part of the eye that lies behind the pupil. Your eye lens is almost entirely made of proteins. As you age, those proteins start disintegrating and clump together, creating cataracts. 

Certain factors can increase the risk of, or speed up the development of, cataracts, including medical problems like diabetes, cigarette smoking, eye injury, excessive sun exposure, and corticosteroid use. 

While most cataracts are related to aging, they can develop suddenly following an eye injury. In some cases, children are born with cataracts, however, it’s rare. 

How do cataracts affect eyesight?

Cataracts can affect eyesight in varying ways based on their stage. They usually start growing at around age 40 without affecting your vision at first. 

Over the years, lens proteins continue breaking down and clumping until they eventually cloud the eye lens. This commonly happens after age 60. Some of the most common signs of cataracts are:

• Blurry vision
• Cloudy vision
• Light sensitivity
• Poor night vision
• Double vision or seeing “ghosted” images
• Faded-looking colors

Cataract symptoms are unique to each person, and they may worsen faster in some people than others. Untreated, cataracts can eventually make daily life and normal activities like reading and driving extremely difficult. 

What do cataracts look like?

Early-stage cataracts aren’t visible to the naked eye. Patients typically learn they have cataracts during a routine eye exam or when they visit Northwest Eye Specialists due to rapidly-changing vision correction needs. Later stage cataracts look cloudy, milky, or like hazy spotting over the iris and pupil.  

Do I need cataract surgery?

Early-stage cataracts usually don’t need surgery. Wearing high-quality eyeglasses that filter out ultraviolet (UV) light when outdoors is the most important thing you can do to slow down cataract growth, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. 

With early-stage cataracts, you can often make a few changes like using brighter light to read and updating your glasses or contact lens prescription to prevent cataracts from disrupting your life. When these measures no longer work, it might be time to consider cataract surgery. 

Cataract surgery involves removing your eye lens and replacing it with an intraocular lens implant (IOL) with your current prescription. Northwest Eye Specialists specializes in the latest high-tech IOLs, including premium multifocal (for multiple prescriptions at once) and toric lenses for astigmatism. 

Call Northwest Eye Specialists or book your appointment online today.