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Cataracts shouldn’t impact your future.
A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens found inside the eye. When left untreated or ignored, a cataract can get worse and eventually cause vision loss and get in the way of life as you know it. Cataracts can affect the way we see light, color and life in general. Common Cataract symptoms are blurred vision, difficulty seeing at night, halos around lights, glare, difficulty reading and frequent prescription changes for glasses. Often surgery is recommended to improve this condition as glasses, eye drops or Lasik are not helpful once a cataract has progressed in the eye.
There are many risk factors for developing a cataract as you get older.
The most common cause of cataracts is due to natural aging. It’s estimated that two-thirds of adults over 60 years of age will experience cataracts at some point in their lifetime.
Additional causes for cataracts can include diabetes, trauma, past surgery to the eye, steroid use, smoking or alcohol abuse, obesity, family history, high blood pressure, and exposure to too much sun or radiation.
Cataracts can often go undetected if they develop slowly. Here are some of the common symptoms.
Cataracts can happen at any time, so it's important to understand the different types outlined below.
As we get older, our risk for cataracts inevitably increases. Age related cataracts are related to changes in the lens of the eye and can be categorized as nuclear cataracts, cortical cataracts and subcapsular cataracts.
Posterior Capsular Opacification (PCO) may eventually occur in some patients who have already had successful cataract surgery. This occurs if the lens capsule becomes cloudy in the restored eye, and patients experience cloudiness and vision loss.
If a cataract has developed due to prior trauma, your eye's lens may be displaced from its natural position. Please notify your surgeon if you have had a direct trauma to your eye in the past.
Occurring at birth, congenital pediatric cataracts can sometimes go undetected leading to a lazy eye.
Maintaining a healthy weight, wearing sunglasses, not smoking, as well as regular eye exams, can help reduce your risk for developing a cataract.
Patients who eat foods high in antioxidants like Vitamin C and Vitamin E are often at lower risk for cataracts. Good sources for Vitamin C include oranges, grapefruit, limes, tomatoes, peppers, kiwi, broccoli, strawberries, brussel sprouts, cantaloupe and potatoes. Foods with high Vitamin E include almonds, spinach, broccoli, peanuts, cereal, vegetable oil, sunflower oil and wheat germ.
Cataracts are typically diagnosed through tests during an eye exam. A Visual acuity test measures how well you can read a series of letters to determine if your vision is impaired. A Slit-lamp examination is a microscope equipped with a light used to examine the eye. Dilating drops are used to better examine the lens, optic nerve and retina.
Cataracts don’t disappear on their own and often require surgery. Surgery is usually highly successful and helps patients alleviate any worry that vision loss will progress, often alleviating a need for glasses post-surgery.
Ultrasound Cataract surgery is an out-patient surgery that usually takes less than 10-15 minutes. The surgeon removes the cloudy lens inside the affected eye through phacoemulsification, using a high-frequency ultrasound device. A new lens implant is inserted during surgery, with no need for additional stitches to the eye.
Also known as Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery (FLACS), this technique provides a low risk innovative approach by using blade-free Femtosecond Laser technology to treat your cataracts with increased precision. The Femtosecond laser allows our cataract team to treat even small amounts of astigmatism with accuracy. We make surgery easy for you and get you back on a path to better sight as quickly as possible.
During cataract surgery, we insert an intraocular lens (IOL) into the eye. This synthetic lens replaces the eye’s natural lens and helps the patient see more clearly, often minimizing the need for glasses or specialty contact lenses. Premium IOL recommendations are made based on a patient’s needs, and customized to work with your lifestyle.
IOLs are customized for each patient but include options like Aspheric IOLs, Toric IOLs, Spherical IOLs, Accommodating IOLs, and Multifocal IOLs. Toric, Accommodating and Multifocal IOLs are designed to reduce the need for glasses, but are not covered by medical insurance. Monovision is also used as a technique to be more independent of glasses.
Corneal Associates of New Jersey
Kremer Eye Center
Ludwick Eye Center
Omni Eye Services
Phillips Eye Specialists
