94 million people have cataracts, a condition that causes the eye’s natural lens to become foggy and discolored. It’s one of the leading causes of vision impairment and blindness when it goes uncorrected.
Eye lens replacement surgery is one of the best ways to prevent this. It replaces your damaged lens with a new, healthy one. It’s also useful for treating other eye conditions that affect the lens, including everything from far and nearsightedness to serious eye trauma.
Read on to learn 5 signs you may need eye lens replacement surgery.
1. Light Sensitivity
Cataracts may cause light to scatter when it hits your eye. This creates a painful glare and makes it difficult to focus on anything, especially in bright light.
Light sensitivity is one of the earliest signs that eye doctors use to diagnose cataracts and determine if you need cataract surgery.
2. Frequent Prescription Changes
You should schedule a comprehensive eye appointment at least every 2-4 years if you’re under 40 and every 1-2 years if you’re between the ages of 55 and 64. You may get a new prescription each time, but a slight change doesn’t mean you need surgery.
Vision changes like cataracts require frequent, major prescription changes. The stronger glasses or contacts also won’t improve your vision because they don’t improve the underlying problem.
3. Color Changes
Cataracts aren’t pure white; they develop a yellowish-brown hue as they grow. Trying to see anything through them makes all the colors of the world around you appear faded and muddy. It also makes it difficult to distinguish between colors.
4. Poor Night Vision
Most eye conditions make it difficult to see at night, and cataracts are no exception. They create rings of lights known as halos around any fixed light source such as a streetlight or the headlight of a car.
Getting the proper eye treatments for this vision change is important for your safety, especially if you drive at night.
5. Second Sight
This is one of the strangest but most important signs that point to the need for eye lens replacement surgery.
If you have a cataract, your vision may suddenly improve after years of needing glasses or contacts. This is most common with nuclear cataracts that form in the center of the lens. The effect is temporary, and the longer you ignore it, the worse your vision will get.
If you notice any of these signs, look into Refractive Lens Exchange surgery. Improving your vision today will improve your quality of life and prevent it from getting any worse.
More Eye Health Tips
Cataracts are a common health condition affecting the lens of the eye, making it foggy and discolored. Eye lens replacement surgery is one of the best treatments. It also helps with a range of other eye conditions.
There are several signs to look out for that may indicate you need a new lens. They include light sensitivity, frequent prescription changes, color changes, poor night vision, and a strange phenomenon known as second sight.
Read the rest of our content for more eye health tips.