Enjoy the Prime of Your Life More After Cataract Surgery
September 10, 2024
Do you have cataracts? Are you tired of poor vision impacting your life and ability to see clearly?
It's time to consider another option, like cataract surgery. Keep reading to find out why you'll enjoy the prime of your life more after cataract surgery.
What are Cataracts?
Cataracts are part of the natural aging process and occur when your usually clear lens in the eye becomes cloudy. When this happens, it becomes more challenging to see clearly, leading to visual impairment.
Many people with cataracts often feel like they are looking at life through a dirty window. Other common signs of cataracts include difficulty seeing while driving at night due to glare, halos coming from streetlights or oncoming traffic, or needing more light to do tasks like reading.
If you notice these signs, make an appointment with your eye doctor at Select Eye Care to confirm you have cataracts. Symptoms of cataracts are not exclusive to the eye condition, making it essential to determine what's causing your visual symptoms first.
If you find out you have cataracts, you'll eventually require treatment as cataracts continue worsening over time. Eventually, they lead to vision loss, making cataract surgery the only way to treat them and regain your ability to see clearly.
However, the good news is that cataracts are common and treatable. After having cataract surgery, you can look forward to seeing clearly and living a safer and more enjoyable life.
Do you have cataracts?
Why Do Cataracts Develop?
Cataracts develop when proteins in your eye's natural lens begin breaking down. They can start developing as early as your forties or fifties.
However, you may not realize when you first have cataracts, as they are usually small and may not affect your vision, at least initially. It can take years before cataracts develop enough to cause noticeable changes to your vision.
But once this happens, you'll notice your vision is no longer as clear as it once was. You may also start developing other frustrating symptoms associated with cataracts.
Your risk of developing cataracts may increase if you have a family history of cataracts or if you have certain medical conditions like diabetes. Eye injuries, eye procedures, and damage from the sun's UV rays can also be contributing factors.
Once you have been diagnosed with cataracts, your eye doctor at Select Eye Care will explain what to expect with cataract surgery and when it's most appropriate to undergo it. Cataract surgery involves removing your cloudy natural lens and replacing it with an intraocular lens, or IOL.
IOLs are safe and effective, ensuring you can see clearly after cataract surgery and allowing you to enjoy the things you love most, whether it's playing tennis, hitting a few balls on the green, or swimming laps to stay fit with your friends.
How Do You Know If You Need Cataract Surgery?
Even if you're experiencing symptoms indicative of having cataracts, the only way to know you have them is to schedule a cataract consultation at Select Eye Care. At your cataract consultation, your eye doctor will check the health of your eyes and also test to see the amount of nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism before your procedure.
Once you've received a diagnosis, your ophthalmologist will also take measurements of your eyes to determine their length and curvature. When you have cataract surgery, this will help your surgeon choose the best intraocular lens and provide you with the clearest vision after the procedure.
How Do You Choose the Best IOL?
Once you and your cataract surgeon at Select Eye Care decide it's time for cataract surgery, the next step will be understanding what occurs during the procedure. Your cataract surgeon will explain what to expect and the different IOL options available.
Many IOLs are available, and your cataract surgeon will recommend which one will work best for your visual needs and lifestyle. Some IOLs are more basic and can only correct vision at one distance, meaning you'll have to wear glasses at the uncorrected distance.
However, other premium IOLs can correct vision at a broader range, ensuring you can see clearly up close, at a distance, and everything in between. Although these IOLs have an out-of-pocket cost, many patients find that they are worth the investment, especially for activities like salsa dancing, late-night boating adventures, or relaxing at home with your partner and watching the stars.
When you finally have the vision you've always wanted in the prime of your life, it can feel like anything is possible!
What are the Advantages of Having Cataract Surgery with a Premium IOL?
Although finding out you have cataracts can be upsetting, correcting your vision permanently is also an option. Correcting your vision will help you to live a more active lifestyle and see things more clearly.
Whether you choose the PanOptix trifocal IOL, which helps you see clearly no matter what distance you're at, or the Light Adjustable Lens, which allows you to customize your vision after cataract surgery, there's no denying that removing your cataracts with cataract surgery is just the beginning to enjoying the best time in your life. These premium IOLs put the power of visual correction in the hands of the patients to ensure that your vision works for you.
They also have the added benefit of not only correcting refractive errors but also correcting presbyopia. If you've ever struggled to read a menu at a restaurant or found it challenging to put on makeup, you've seen firsthand the frustrations that come with presbyopia.
But cataract surgery and premium IOLs help you see clearly at an arm's distance, making these and other tasks easier and helping you regain the visual independence that cataracts took away from you. Many patients who have cataract surgery notice almost immediate visual improvements.
How Does Cataract Surgery Help Active Lifestyles?
If you are a person who enjoys spending time outdoors and being active, then restoring your ability to see clearly with cataract surgery means you'll enjoy outdoor activities more. Staying active with activities like pickleball, hiking, and yoga will become easier and more fun when you remove your cataracts.
Wouldn't you love to volley better during pickleball without cloudy vision standing in your way? If you choose a premium IOL, you could not only have improved vision after cataract surgery but no longer need to depend on reading glasses.
As cataracts develop, it can become more difficult to enjoy things you've always been able to see clearly, including reading, watching television, or looking at a computer. Once you have cataract surgery, you'll have clearer vision for the things that matter most.
Are There Other Advantages to Having Cataract Surgery?
If you've had cloudy vision and are unsure why your vision is no longer as clear as it once was, you owe it to yourself to schedule a cataract consultation. Only after a cataract consultation can you develop a treatment plan and determine when you'll have cataract surgery.
Cataract surgery will sharpen your vision and allow you to return to what you enjoyed and could no longer do because of your failing vision. Knowing that cataract surgery is a safe procedure means you will have a positive experience and outcome, allowing you to see clearly, no matter what distance.
You'll be able to see the faces of your loved ones more clearly and the places you travel to make memories for a lifetime. Are you ready to make your dreams of a better vision a reality?
Take the first step by requesting your appointment today at Select Eye Care in Elkridge and Towson, MD!