When driving at night, do the headlights and street lights ahead of you cause you to squint to see well? Do your prescription eyeglasses seem to be falling asleep on the job? Does working on the computer or watching television make you rub your eyes to rub cloudiness away? Many people experienced frustrating symptoms like these and chalk them up to aging. In reality, the problem could be cataracts.
Life with Cataracts
If you’ve heard anything about cataracts, you may know that they can develop over time, making early symptoms nearly impossible to pinpoint. Over time, it becomes increasingly difficult to drive at night due to the glares and halos that appear around lights. Clouding and haziness in vision can make colors appear less vibrant and, as cataracts worsen, seeing other people’s faces may become a challenge. Because these changes can occur at a snail’s pace, many people do not realize just how much their vision has been affected until they notice that they cannot do things they used to. Often, this comes down to a friend or loved one pointing it out.
The symptoms of cataracts don’t have to get so bad. If you’re over the age of 60 and have noticed that your vision doesn’t feel as crisp and clear as it once did, you might assume that you’re developing cataracts. If you have high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, or you smoke or drink alcohol regularly, your risk of developing cataracts is higher than the average person. Cataracts are concerning because they can completely impair vision if they get bad enough. The good news is that, in most cases, cataract treatment can completely restore visual clarity.
Candidates for Cataract Surgery
At any point that cataract symptoms become too much, a simple surgery can correct the problem. In the past few decades, technological advances have significantly improved the outcome of cataract removal surgery. Understandably, the thought of eye surgery can be intimidating. We assure our patients that they are in good hands. Cataract surgery is one of the most common eye surgeries performed today. It is also one of the most successful.
At Central Florida Eye Institute, cataract surgery is performed as an outpatient procedure. There is no hospital and no overnight stay. There is also no general anesthesia and no pain. This is because the procedure is performed with a powerful local anesthetic and technologies that allow Dr. Croley to quickly gain access to the clouded lens, break that lens apart for easy removal, and replace the natural lens with an intraocular lens that is similar in thickness and size. The intraocular lens is customized to meet the needs of each patient. Some devices can even correct certain vision problems. Patients are usually fully recovered from cataract surgery within one month of their procedure.
Contact us for Your Consultation
You don’t have to live with cataracts. Call (352) 237-8400 to schedule your consultation today.