Doctor & Associates wishes to announce that Prevent Blindness America has designated June as National Cataract Awareness Month. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. About 20.5 million Americans age 40 and older have cataracts and more than half of all Americans develop cataracts by age 80.
Many patients do not actually know that a cataract is a clouding of the crystalline lens of the eye preventing light rays from passing through it easily. This results in a clouding and blurring of vision. They need to understand that cataracts are not a growth or a film over the eye. For many patients cataracts start out slowly and have little effect on vision at first. But, as the cataract becomes denser, so does the impact on vision. The most common symptoms that bother patients with cataracts include:
• blurring of vision
• sensitivity to light and glare
• double vision in one eye
• poor night vision
• fading or yellowing of colors
• frequent changes in glasses or contact lens prescriptions.
When cataracts do begin to interfere with daily activities or with patient comfort and safety, they can be treated surgically. Cataract surgery is one of the safest and most frequently performed surgeries in the United States. Today, at Doctor & Associates we have a full range of Intraocular Lens Implants (IOL) available that allow us to correct near vision as well as distance vision without requiring bifocals or reading glasses for the vast majority of patients. Please feel free to contact us with your questions about Cataracts, Cataract Surgery or Lens Implants by calling Doctor & Associates at 203-227-4113.
