Are There Benefits To Having Cataract Surgery Now?

woman smiling while sitting on couch

If you’ve been diagnosed with cataracts, there’s a good chance your doctor has brought up the possibility of cataract surgery. Cataract surgery is an elective procedure, but it’s often necessary to reverse or prevent a patient from going blind from cataracts.

The fact that cataract surgery is elective does mean that it’s partially up to you when to have it, although your doctor can make recommendations. There are some benefits to waiting to have surgery, but most doctors agree on when it is best to have cataract surgery.

Keep reading to learn more about cataract surgery and if there are benefits to having it now!

When to Have Cataract Surgery

The general recommendation from eye doctors is to have cataract surgery when your cataracts begin to affect your quality of life. The reason cataract surgery isn’t performed as soon as your cataracts have been diagnosed is that they take years to develop.

They may even develop slowly enough that you never even need cataract surgery. But once your cataracts make it harder to live your daily life, you should definitely have cataract surgery as soon as you can.

It may be difficult to tell if your cataracts are significantly affecting your life. If you’re not sure, ask yourself a few questions.

Do you have trouble reading?

If you’re older, you may have trouble reading due to presbyopia. This is a common age-related condition that makes it harder to see up close.

But if you have cataracts, reading glasses that would normally help your eyes focus won’t help you read. This is because cataracts affect your night vision.

They make it harder to read not because your eyes can’t focus, but due to lack of light. If you find it’s hard to read unless you have direct light, that could be a sign it’s time for cataract surgery.

Do you have trouble driving at night?

For the same reason, that reading becomes harder, driving at night can be very difficult and dangerous if you have cataracts.

This is due to poor night vision. Not only that but increased glare and light sensitivity can make headlights from other cars seem blindingly bright. If you don’t feel safe driving at night, it’s definitely time to have your cataracts removed.

Is it difficult to complete daily tasks at work or at home?

If cataract symptoms like poor night vision, light sensitivity, increased glare, blurry vision, double vision, and faded color vision make it harder to perform your job or chores at home, you should consider cataract surgery.

It may be hard to tell if your trouble is due to cataracts as they develop so slowly, but if you stop to think why certain tasks are hard, you may come to realize it’s due to visual problems. Think about how your symptoms affect you as you go about your day.

If you find you have to work around them, cataracts are certainly affecting your quality of life. Ready to find out if you need to have cataract surgery? Schedule a cataract screening at Berg Feinfield in Burbank, CA today!