How do I know if I have a cataract?
A developing cataract may not have any symptoms that you are aware of on a day to day basis. You may first hear about your cataract during an examination with your eye doctor. As your cataract progresses you will begin to notice various visual symptoms: A loss of clarity, a hazy nature to the vision, halos around lights at night, glare while looking toward the sun. Some people may have difficulty reading.
Will glasses help if I have a cataract?
Glasses and contact lenses may be prescribed to improve your vision while your cataract continues to progress. Glasses and contact lenses will not remove your cataract, nor will they slow its progression. However, if your vision can be improved to the point that you can perform your daily activities comfortably, you may be able to postpone cataract surgery.
What caused my cataract?
The most common cause of cataracts is simply aging. Essentially everyone who lives long enough will eventually get a cataract! Certain things can cause cataracts earlier in life: Trauma, some medications, prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light, medical diseases such as diabetes, and heredity.
Can I take eye drops to make my cataracts go away?
There is no medical treatment that will slow or stop the progression of cataracts, and no medical treatment is available to reverse cataract changes. Only the removal of your cataract with surgery will relieve you of the symptoms caused by the cataract.
How will I know when it is time to have surgery?
Cataracts are rarely harmful to the eye itself. The timing of cataract surgery is generally determined by the patient with a cataract! When you can no longer comfortably perform your daily activities, or when your vision begins to interfere with your enjoyment of your daily activities, your surgeon may suggest the possibility of removing your cataract.
Does cataract surgery hurt?
Cataract surgery is generally performed under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting. Cataract surgery is typically a short, gentle experience, and rarely involves any discomfort.
Will I need glasses after surgery?
You get to choose whether or not you will need to wear glasses after your cataract surgery! If you choose the basic high tech implant for your cataract surgery, and if you do not have any astigmatism, you will be able to choose to be mostly glasses free for either your distance vision (driving, television) or near vision (reading, computer, handy crafts). If you do have astigmatism and you choose the basic high tech implants you may have to wear glasses for all of your activities if you wish to have your very best vision.
If you wish to have your very best distance vision, mostly free of the need to wear glasses, you will need to have any astigmatism treated as part of the surgery. The advanced distance vision high tech implant will cure both your cataract and your astigmatism! Most people are independent of glasses for the majority of their distance vision needs.
You can also choose to maximize your independence from wearing glasses for ANY activities! The advanced near and far high tech implant can be chosen to maximize the number of activities you can do without wearing glasses at all.
Will my insurance cover cataract surgery?
Most insurance policies, including Medicare and Medicare managed care policies, do cover the basic costs of cataract surgery once your vision has been significantly decreased by a cataract. The additional costs associated with advanced cataract implants are not covered by any insurance plans, including Medicare.
How do I insert eye drops?
How to Insert Eye Drops
We get many questions here at SkyVision and this ranks as one of the top questions. People use eye drops for many reasons and these helpful suggestions will make you feel like a pro.
- Before using eye drops, wash your hands with soap and warm water. Dry them with a clean towel.
- If you are putting in your own eye drops, lie down or use a mirror. It may be helpful to ask someone to check that you are getting the eye drops in your eye.
- Look up to the ceiling with both eyes.
- While tilting your head back, pull the lower lid of your eye down with one hand. Hold the eye drops bottle or tube in your other hand (rest part of your hand on your forehead if necessary to keep it steady).
- Place one eye drop or a small amount of ointment inside your lower lid. The tip of the medicine bottle or tube should not touch your eye.
- Blink and dab away the excess eye drop fluid with a tissue.
- If you are prescribed both eye drops and eye ointment, use the eye drops first, otherwise the ointment may block the absorption of the eye drops.
- If you have more than one type of eye drop to put in your eyes, wait about five minutes after the first medicine before putting in the second eye drop medicine.
- Keeping the eyes closed (without continued blinking) for a few minutes may allow better penetration and effectiveness of the medication.
- Immediately after using the eye drops, wash your hands to remove any medication that may be left on them.
- If you have any questions, talk to your eye doctor or optical technician.
adapted from an article from WebMD