Cataracts or Blurry Vision? Understand the Difference
If things start to look blurry, your first thought might be that you need glasses or contacts. If you already wear corrective lenses, you may wonder if it’s time for a stronger prescription. However, if you’re over the age of 35, there could be another reason for your blurry eyesight: cataracts.
Often thought of as a condition that only affects the elderly, cataracts can begin to cloud the eyes decades before your senior years. The cloudiness is caused by proteins in the lens breaking down and clumping together. Over time, the cloudy area becomes more severe. If left untreated, cataracts can lead to blindness. The only treatment is surgery.
Dr. Matzkin performs Multi-Focal Implants for cataract surgery and has many patients thrilled with their results. Keep reading to learn more about cataracts and the innovative procedure that can restore your vision.
Distinctive Signs and Symptoms of Cataracts
How can you tell if your blurred vision is from cataracts, myopia (near-sightedness) or another condition? While many eye conditions can cause blurry vision, cataracts make things appear blurry from any distance. Additional cataract signs include:
- Cloudy, foggy or filmy vision.
- Difficulty seeing and driving at night.
- Trouble seeing in bright sunlight.
- Sensitivity to indoor lights (they appear too bright or have halos).
- Double vision.
- Normally bright colors appearing faded or discolored.
- An overall yellowish or brownish tinge to your vision.
- Needing frequent changes to your corrective lens prescription.
Because of the progressive nature of cataracts, your signs and symptoms will slowly become more extreme over time. One odd feature of cataracts is that you may suddenly find you no longer need reading glasses. This “second sight” phenomenon is caused by the cataract serving as a stronger lens. However, this condition is temporary and vanishes as the cataract worsens.
How does Dr. Matzkin check for cataracts?
A dilated eye exam is necessary to diagnose cataracts and determine how far they’ve progressed. Dr. Matzkin will give you some eye drops that dilate (widen) your pupil. After giving the drops a few minutes to work, he will look inside your eyes for cataracts or other problems.
It’s possible to have a cataract in one eye only. Though cataracts cannot spread from one eye to the other, having a cataract means you’re at higher risk for developing another one.
Premium Cataract Surgery at Allied Eye
Dr. Matzkin uses the Alcon LenSx Laser to perform cataract surgery. Laser refractive cataract surgery is preferable to standard surgery because it brings a new level of accuracy to the procedure. For example:
- Laser corneal incisions are customizable and can be exactly replicated in different spots around the cornea.
- Laser lens fragmentation creates easily dissected particles and provides a gentler way to remove the cataract.
- Actual removal of the cataract can be achieved more precisely.
- Your surgeon can implant your new lens with greater accuracy.
What type of lens is used during cataract surgery? Dr. Matzkin uses the most inert implants to provide the best results for your eyes. You will receive one of three main types of implants. Standard lens implants provide a fixed focus. This means that you will likely need some type of glasses after surgery. Multifocal lens implants are a great choice for many patients because they allow for clear vision at all distances and eliminate the need for glasses.
Toric implants are the third type of lens and are used to correct astigmatism. Patients who receive toric implants still need reading glasses. If you have astigmatism and want to eliminate the need for reading glasses, you may want to opt for LASIK surgery. Or, you may be able to receive multifocal implants with LRI (limbal corneal relaxing incisions). While LASIK provides more accurate outcomes, LRI can be successful for low levels of simple astigmatism.
Why choose Allied Eye for your cataract laser surgery?
Since 1995, Dr. Matzkin has treated thousands of patients throughout the southeast, including many eye doctors and their families. He is a cataract surgeon, refractive LASIK surgeon, ophthalmic eye surgeon, ophthalmologist and neuro-ophthalmologist.
While there may be some reasons to wait before having cataract surgery, Dr. Matzkin believes in performing the operation as early as possible. This is because the lens becomes harder and more difficult to remove as we age.
Find out what previous patients have to say about cataract surgery at Allied Eye by watching these brief testimonies. Click on each name below!
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