How to Diagnose and Treat Cataracts
It's time to check to see whether you have cataracts if your eyesight has been a little foggy recently and nighttime driving is becoming challenging. Your doctor will assist you in understanding what is going on and can advise surgery or other options to improve your blurry vision.
Diagnosis
Your doctor will want to know every detail of your symptoms in order to determine whether you have cataracts. They'll inquire as to whether anything appears foggy or blurry and whether the glare from lights bothers you, particularly at night.
Your doctor will examine your eyes carefully and might perform several tests:
Test of visual acuity. This is a technical term for "eye chart exam." To test how keen your eyesight is, your doctor will ask you to read letters from a distance. They may also perform a glare test, when they shine a bright light in your eye and then ask you to see the letters. Initially, you will attempt it with one eye, then the other.
Slit-lamp examination. With the use of a special microscope and a strong light, your doctor is able to examine various eye parts. They will examine your cornea, the transparent outer layer. The iris, the colorful portion of your eye, and the lens that lies behind it will also be checked. To enable clear vision, the lens bends light as it enters your eye.
Retinal examination. To enlarge your pupils—the small, black patches in the middle of your eyes that regulate how much light enters—your doctor injects drops into your eyes. This gave them a clear view of the cataract as well as the retina, the tissue that surrounds the back of your eyes.
Manage Symptoms Without Surgery
The only treatment for cataracts is surgery, however you might not require it straight away. You might be able to get by with a new prescription for your glasses if you identify the issue early on. For a period, a stronger lens may improve your eyesight.
Try using a magnifying glass or a bulb that is brighter if you are having problems reading. Check out specialized glasses with an anti-glare coating if glare bothers you. They may be beneficial if you drive at night.
Keep a close eye on how your cataracts are affecting your vision. It's time to consider surgery when your eyesight problems start to interfere with your everyday activities, particularly if they make driving hazardous.
Types of Surgery
There are several cataract surgeries, but they all include your surgeon removing the hazy lens that is impairing your vision and replacing it with an artificial one.
A procedure on a delicate area like your eye could make you feel a little queasy. It doesn't hurt, though, and it's a relatively routine treatment. You'll be given local anesthetic during the procedure to make your eye feel comfortable. You won't feel anything and will be awake but medicated.
You do not need to spend the night in the hospital and it often takes 15 to 20 minutes. When a patient has cataracts in both eyes, their doctor will wait until the first eye has fully recovered before operating on the second.
Small-incision surgery. This procedure may also be known as phacoemulsification by your doctor. Your cornea is sliced very slightly by the surgeon. They'll insert a tiny device into your eye that emits ultrasonic waves, which separate your hazy lens. Then they remove the parts and insert your new, synthetic lens.
Large-incision surgery. This isn’t done as often, but doctors sometimes suggest it for larger cataracts that cause more vision trouble than usual. It's sometimes also called extracapsular cataract extraction. Your surgeon takes out your clouded lens in one piece, then swaps it out for an artificial one. You'll probably need a little more time to heal from this surgery than from the small-incision type.
Femtosecond laser surgery. During this procedure, your surgeon separates the lens using a laser. Once this is finished, just like with the other varieties, the replacement lens will be installed. If you also have astigmatism, a corneal curvature that causes your vision to be hazy, your doctor might advise you to try this. By reshaping your cornea with the laser during cataract surgery, your physician can address that issue.
After Your Surgery
Most folks experience a smooth recovery. Depending on the sort of operation you have, the duration varies. But generally speaking, you'll find your vision improves significantly a few days afterwards. You can resume all of your favorite activities after a week or two.
But there are dangers involved with every procedure. Although it's unlikely, you could be bleeding or infected. Additionally, your retina may start to tear away from the tissues in the rear of your eye. The medical term for this is "detached retina."
After cataract surgery, some patients experience a condition known as posterior capsule opacification (PCO). The capsule in your eye that holds the artificial lens in place may get cloudier once more as a result of this thickening. The issue can be resolved via a YAG laser procedure. This might happen within a year of having cataract surgery, or it can take up to ten years.
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