You have probably heard people talk about cataracts and thought, "Oh, that only happens when you are older." A cataract occurs when your clear lens becomes cloudy, usually due to the breakup of proteins in your eyes. Cataract growth often begins around the age of 40, so by the age of 80, almost half of those living in America find themselves suffering from cataracts.
While not life-threatening, cataracts can hamper your quality of life. It becomes harder to see things clearly, and your world becomes less colorful. Our eye doctor, Shermin Lahijani OD, Hollywood Optometrist, can diagnose cataracts and discuss treatment options with you.
Symptoms of Cataracts
Cataracts typically grow very slowly, and you may not notice changes to your vision at first. But some of the things to be on the lookout for are:
- Things look hazy, cloudy, or blurry
- Bright lights bother you more than they usually do
- Halos are appearing around headlights and lamp lights
- You can't see as well at night now
- The colors of things seem to be dull or faded
- If you wear glasses, your prescription changes more often
- You experience double vision
In addition to age being a factor for cataracts, other things such as smoking, drinking too much, frequent exposure to sunlight, diabetes, and a family history of cataracts can increase your risk. Some people may experience cataracts after an eye injury, radiation treatment, or taking steroids for a health issue.
Tests to Diagnose Cataracts
One of the easiest ways to check for cataracts is when our eye doctor dilates your eyes. Dilation allows the eye doctor to check your lens for protein buildup. Other methods that can be used for diagnosis include a visual acuity test, slit-lamp examination, retinal exam, and applanation tonometry.
What Can Be Done
Depending on the severity of your cataracts, our eye doctor may suggest several things. If you have a mid-case of cataracts, wearing sunglasses, using magnifying glasses for reading and other close-up activities, and turning on brighter lights to see better can help. Our eye doctor could give you a new prescription for eyeglasses. Once none of these things work anymore, and you feel your cataracts are preventing you from enjoying life as you should, he may discuss cataract surgery with you.
Cataracts aren't threatening but can make life more challenging as you struggle to see things more clearly. If you are in California and looking for an:
- optometrist in L.A
- optometrist in Echo Park
- optometrist in Westlake
- optometrist in Rampart
- optometrist in Silver Lake
- optometrist in MacArthur Park
give Shermin Lahijani OD, Hollywood Optometrist a call for the best eye care treatment.
