Cataract Symptoms: Early Signs and When to Consider Surgery in Alpharetta

Short answer: A cataract is a clouding of the clear lens inside your eye. The early signs are blur that new glasses do not fully fix, glare and halos around headlights at night, colors that look faded or yellow, and needing more light to read. Cataracts grow slowly, so many people live well with them for years. Surgery makes sense when the cataract starts getting in the way of driving, reading, work or hobbies. At Reimbold Eye Group in Alpharetta, we check for cataracts at every comprehensive exam, help you manage early ones, and refer you to a cataract surgeon when the time is right.

What a cataract is

Behind the colored iris sits a lens about the size of an M&M. When you are young it is clear and flexible. With age, the proteins in it slowly clump and turn cloudy or yellow, like a window that fogs up a little more each year. By their 60s and 70s, most people have at least some lens clouding, and many people in their 50s have early changes.

Eye doctors describe three common types. A nuclear cataract forms in the center of the lens and slowly yellows your vision. A cortical cataract starts at the edges as spoke-like streaks that scatter light. A posterior subcapsular cataract forms at the back of the lens, can grow faster, and often causes glare and trouble reading in bright light. It is more common in people who take steroid medicines or have diabetes.

Early signs of cataracts

• Cloudy or filmy vision that does not clear when you blink or clean your glasses.
• Glare, starbursts and halos at night, especially from oncoming headlights on roads like GA-400 or Old Milton Parkway after dark.
• Faded or yellowed colors. Many people only notice how dull colors had become after surgery.
• Needing more light to read menus, labels or your phone.
• Frequent prescription changes, often more nearsighted than before.
• Suddenly reading without your readers. A nuclear cataract can shift focus so that close vision briefly improves. It feels like good news, but it is a sign the lens is changing.
• Double or ghost images in one eye.

Other problems can cause some of the same symptoms, including dry eye, macular degeneration, glaucoma and an epiretinal membrane. Normal aging of close-up focus after 40 is different too; our post on blurry vision up close after 40 explains presbyopia. A full exam is the only way to know which one you have.

Who is more likely to get cataracts

Age is the biggest factor, but some things make cataracts come earlier or grow faster:

• Diabetes. Read why yearly diabetic eye exams matter.
• Long-term steroid pills, inhalers or eye drops.
• Years of sun exposure without UV protection. See our guide to UV protection in sunglasses.
• Smoking, an eye injury or past eye surgery.
• High nearsightedness, which is one reason we work to slow myopia in children.
• A family history of early cataracts.

How we check for cataracts in Alpharetta

A cataract exam is part of every comprehensive eye exam at our office on Old Milton Parkway. We measure how clearly you see, refine your glasses prescription to see whether new lenses still sharpen your vision, and look at the lens with a slit lamp microscope, usually after dilating your pupils. We also photograph the retina and use OCT scans when needed, because a cataract can hide other problems behind it. You can see our equipment on the eye exam technology page.

Living well with early cataracts

• Update your glasses. Early on, a new prescription often brings vision back to a comfortable level.
• Choose an anti-reflective coating. It cuts glare from headlights and screens. Our opticians can walk you through the options on our custom luxury lenses page. Our guide to night driving glasses and headlight glare explains why clear, coated lenses work better after dark than yellow tints.
• Wear sunglasses outdoors to lower glare and protect your eyes from more UV.
• Add brighter, focused lighting for reading and hobbies.
• Get checked every year, or sooner if your vision changes, so we can tell you when things have moved on.

When cataract surgery makes sense

Surgery is worth talking about when glasses no longer give you the vision you need, when glare makes night driving unsafe, or when blur keeps you from reading, working or enjoying hobbies. Cataract surgery is one of the most common and successful operations done today. The surgeon, an ophthalmologist, removes the cloudy lens through a tiny opening and replaces it with a clear artificial lens called an intraocular lens, or IOL.

Choosing a lens implant

When people search for premium cataract surgery, they usually mean the choice of lens implant:

• Standard single-focus (monofocal) lens: sharp vision at one distance, usually far, with readers for close work. Usually covered by insurance.
• Toric lens: also corrects astigmatism. Learn more about astigmatism.
• Multifocal and extended-range lenses: designed to give a wider range of clear vision with less need for glasses, though some people notice halos at night.

Upgraded lenses usually add out-of-pocket cost, and not every eye is a good match for them. Dry eye, macular disease or a past corneal problem can change which lens is best, which is why we share your exam findings and images with the surgeon.

Before and after surgery

If your exam shows it is time, we explain what we found and refer you to a cataract surgeon in the north Atlanta area. Our guide to optometrists and ophthalmologists explains how that teamwork works. After surgery, vision often clears within days. Once your eye has healed, usually a few weeks later, we can check your new prescription and help you choose glasses for reading, computer work or driving. Many people pick new frames to go with their brighter vision; our face shape glasses guide is a good place to start.

Frequently asked questions

Can eye drops dissolve a cataract?

No. There are no approved eye drops that clear or reverse a cataract, even though some are sold online with that claim. Early on, a new glasses prescription, anti-glare lenses and better lighting help. Once a cataract really gets in the way, surgery is the only treatment that removes it.

Do cataracts have to be ripe before surgery?

No. That advice dates back to older surgical methods. Today the right time is when the cataract makes everyday tasks such as night driving, reading or work hard, and new glasses no longer fix the blur. Waiting until a cataract is very dense can make surgery more complex.

Is cataract surgery painful?

Most people feel pressure but little or no pain. The eye is numbed with drops, you are usually given medicine to relax, and the procedure itself often takes less than half an hour. You go home the same day, and the second eye, if needed, is usually done on a separate day.

Will I still need glasses after cataract surgery?

It depends on the lens implant you choose. A standard single-focus implant usually leaves you needing readers, or glasses for distance if it is set for near. Toric implants also correct astigmatism, and multifocal or extended-range implants can reduce how often you need glasses. Most people get a final glasses prescription a few weeks after surgery.

Can a cataract come back after surgery?

The cataract itself cannot come back, because the cloudy lens is removed. Months or years later, though, the thin capsule that holds the new lens can turn hazy and blur vision again. This is common and is fixed with a quick, painless laser treatment in the surgeon's office.

Book a cataract check in Alpharetta

Noticing glare at night, faded colors or blur that new glasses do not fix? Schedule a comprehensive eye exam with our eye doctors and we will tell you where your eyes stand. Book online or call 770-776-9000. Reimbold Eye Group is at 4180 Old Milton Pkwy 1-D, Alpharetta, GA 30005.