How Cataracts Impact Your Vision
As we age, our eyes' natural lenses can become cloudier and more distorted, resulting in cataracts. At Progressive Eyecare & Eyewear in Indianapolis and Fishers, we have ample experience treating cataracts.
Blurry Vision
The lens of your eye is usually transparent, helping to focus light that enters your eye on the retina, a layer of nerve cells lining the back wall. Unfortunately, when cataracts develop, light no longer passes through this lens and instead scatters. These cataracts can have a significant effect on your vision, causing blurry or hazy vision as well as changes to color perception. Some individuals with cataracts may experience blurry vision, which can impair daily activities.
Night Blindness
Cataracts can also lead to impaired night vision, which occurs when your eyes need time to adjust from bright light to dim or dark conditions. Specifically, cataracts interfere with how light rays are transmitted to your retina and brain, resulting in blurry or dim vision. They may also produce halos around streetlights and headlights, particularly at night.
Sensitivity to Light
Another symptom of cataracts is a heightened sensitivity to bright lights, which can cause eye pain. This increased sensitivity to light is often noticed in the bright sun for extended periods or the glare of oncoming headlights when driving at night.
Changes in Color Perception
When an image enters your eye, light is converted to a nerve signal and sent to your brain, providing visual information. When cataracts obstruct the lens, however, the image's color is distorted. In addition to making colors appear dull and faded, cataracts also reduce a person's capacity for color discrimination.
How Our Optometrists Will Treat Your Cataracts
Our optometrists will conduct several tests to diagnose whether you have cataracts and how severe they are. This includes a visual acuity test, which measures your ability to read letters at various distances. Our eye doctors will also perform a slit-lamp exam, giving us a magnified view of your eye's lens, iris, and cornea. With this tool, we can check for yellowing of the lens, clefts, or fissures in its surface, as well as white opacities indicative of cataract formation. Depending on the severity and progression of your cataracts, surgery may be recommended to correct your vision.
Contact Our Eye Doctors in Indianapolis, IN
Call Progressive Eyecare & Eyewear in Indianapolis at (317) 595-8855 to schedule your eye care appointment if you are experiencing blurry vision, eye sensitivity, or night blindness. You can also reach out to our office in Fishers at (317) 913-0700.