5 Signs You Might Need Cataract Surgery

How can you tell if what you’re experiencing might be cataracts? Are there any telltale signs that suggest you may need cataract surgery to restore your vision? 

If you’re asking yourself the same questions, then you’ve come to the right place! Cataract surgery is a fairly safe, painless, and standard treatment for one of the most common eye conditions affecting older adults. 

Below are some common signs that may indicate the need for surgery to restore vision and improve quality of life. 

1. You have difficulty driving at night 

Driving with cataracts can be risky, especially at night. 

That’s because cataracts often cause halos and glare around lights, making it difficult to see clearly while driving at night. As a result, you may miss road signs and visual cues that are essential for driving. 

This puts not only your safety at risk but also the safety of others on the road. If you suspect you have cataracts, it’s best to avoid driving altogether and have a family member or friend take you where you need to go instead. 

2. You update your prescription more frequently 

If you notice that your prescription is increasing unusually often, it may be a sign that your cataracts are getting worse. 

With cataracts, the eye’s natural lens becomes progressively cloudier, affecting your vision. Once your vision has been affected, your prescription will continue to change, more frequently this time. 

Over time, cataracts may require more frequent changes to your glasses or contact lens prescription than you’ve needed before. 

When your prescription can no longer keep up with the changes, cataract surgery becomes the only effective way to restore your vision. 

3. You have trouble completing daily tasks 

As cataracts progress, even simple everyday tasks can become much harder than when you had relatively good vision. 

For example, you might notice difficulty reading messages on your phone, sewing up your favourite shirt, or even reading a book at night before going to bed. 

The thing about cataracts is that these changes don’t happen at once or overnight. It’s a condition that develops slowly, often over the course of years, gradually taking away your ability to perform regular tasks one by one. 

This includes tasks such as cooking, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, walking the dog, or even something as simple as watching television. Eventually, your mobility may also be affected because many fine motor skills depend heavily on your ability to see. 

4. You experience double vision 

One of the more concerning, though less common, symptoms of cataracts is double vision, also known as diplopia. It’s usually caused by the cloudiness of the eye’s natural lens, which prevents light from focusing properly on the retina. 

As a result, multiple images are sent to the brain, making it virtually impossible to perform simple everyday tasks and often leaving the person confused and disoriented. 

At the early signs of double vision, it’s best to see your doctor right away to determine whether cataract surgery may be the right option for you. Until then, avoid activities such as driving and engaging in physically strenuous exercises. 

5. They start to interfere with other eye diagnostics 

When the cataracts have become more advanced, it may become difficult for your doctor to accurately assess your eyes for other conditions that may also be affecting your vision. 

In such cases, cataract eye surgery may be necessary not only to restore clearer vision but also to facilitate proper testing and diagnosis of other potential vision-related problems.