Are you struggling with blurry vision? Is it one of the major signs and symptoms of cataracts? If yes, it needs immediate medical attention.
At Hill Country Eye Centre, you can personalize your eye treatment services to protect, improve and preserve your vision. We are prioritizing routine eye care to identify and treat eye problems like corneal disorders, cataracts or macular degeneration. Each year, our doctors perform more than 1.5 million cataract surgeries
with a 90% success rate of clear vision.
From faded colors, night driving woes, to light sensitivity, all are cataract symptoms that call for clinical action. Visit our Austin Clinic for expert care and experience to improve the quality of life with vision.
What are the Most Common Signs and Symptoms of Cataract?
Cataracts form slowly, so signs and symptoms of cataract start gradually until the patient faces distortion in vision. Early symptoms include difficulty seeing bright colors, night vision, and sharp images becoming foggy, cloudy or blurry.
1.Blurry Vision
One of the primary cataract symptoms is cloudy or blurred vision. You start seeing a hazy vision, making daily activities difficult, such as using a computer, reading fine print on a restaurant menu, or highway signs while driving.
2. Nighttime Vision Problem
Difficulty with night vision is another symptom. You may find it hard to see at night, and it may feel like a loss of light. It's dangerous to move around or drive if everything appears dark or much dimmer.
This cataract symptom is extremely dangerous for an elderly person who depends on their eyesight for regular activities.
3. Fading of Color Vision
Yellowing or fading of colors is one of the most problematic signs and symptoms of cataracts. Patients begin to see a shift in color vibrancy. For example, white appears beige or grey, and blue can appear green. It becomes hard to detect the color tone until you treat your cataract.
4. Light Sensitivity
Sensitivity to light is another symptom. In the starting phase of this eye issue, bright colors become intolerable. You may feel discomfort from street lights, sunlight, or headlights, particularly while driving at night.
5. Frequent Changes in Eyeglass Power
Frequently changing contact lenses or eyeglasses power is another common cataract symptom. Regular alterations in prescriptions are a serious sign and symptom of cataracts, and seeking medical help is advised.
6. Double Vision in One Eye
Are you seeing a single object as more than one image or double in one eye only?
This double vision detects another sign and symptom of cataract that appears when a cataract develops.
7. Halos Around Light
When a cataract develops, patients see circular, rainbow-like rings of light surrounding a particular bright light, such as a car headlight or street lamp. These cataract symptoms cause risks for night driving or blindness, which is dangerous and needs immediate treatment.
What are the Risk Factors for Cataracts?
Ageing is another risk factor for having cataracts. According to many experts, proteins in the eyes start breaking down around the age of 40, but patients notice cataract symptoms at 60 or later.
Environmental Risk Factors
We usually intake toxic substances while breathing or ingesting. We ingest or breathe some toxic substances that are harmful to our bodies.
Environmental factors increase the amount of free radicals and damage healthy cells in our eyes. It leads to cataract formation. Environmental risk factors include:
- Smoke
- Alcohol
- Air toxins
- Pesticides
- Industrial chemicals
- Long-term UV exposure
- Radiation therapy history
- Medical Factors
Medical risk factors can raise your risk for cataracts. These include
If you have high diabetes
Certain eye surgeries, such as glaucoma
Eye diseases, like uveitis, retinitis pigments
Long-term corticosteroid use for other health issues, like arthritis
Genetics Risk
Age-related cataracts can arise due to genetic risk factors. Genetic mutations make our lenses more vulnerable to damage from medical or environmental risk factors. So, what are the risk factors? Read Below
- Previous eye inflammation or injury,
- Arising from previous Eye surgery
- A family history of cataracts
How to Treat Cataract Safely?
Surgery is the only way to reduce cataract symptoms and improve your vision.
1. Phacoemulsification
A tiny incision surgery is the most common clinical approach to remove cataracts.
In this process, a tiny cut is made near the outer edge of your eye, and a small device utilizes ultrasound waves.
It breaks up the hard, cloudy area of the dense lens, and the instrument removes the remaining lens material through the incision.
2. Extracapsular Cataract Extraction (Extracapsular Surgery)
This clinical procedure can help you with better vision.
- During this surgery, the doctor opens a larger section on the upper part of your eye, removes the cloudy lens,
- At Hill Country Eye Centre, our experts carefully insert an intraocular lens (IOL) through the same cut.
- Extra capsular surgery lets light pass clearly to the retina and improves vision.
We recommend that patients who undergo cataract surgery protect their eyes from the sun. Carry sunglasses and wear glasses with anti-UV coating. Most importantly, take care of your eyes regularly.
