Cataracts cause your vision to become progressively blurred and cloudy, making daily tasks like reading, driving, and recognizing faces challenging. Night vision can worsen, and bright lights might cause uncomfortable glare.
These difficulties can limit your independence and decrease your quality of life. Simple activities you once enjoyed may become harder to do. To prevent these disruptions, seeking the counsel of a top cataract specialist is crucial. They will recommend the best treatments or adjustments that can help restore your clear vision and help you maintain an active and fulfilling lifestyle.
What is the Best Way to Treat Cataracts?
If you’re seeing a cataract specialist for cataracts, you may wonder what they will recommend for your treatment. Well, they may outright recommend surgery.
Top cataract specialists recommend surgery as the best way to treat cataracts because it is the only way to truly restore clear vision. During the procedure, your cataract specialist will remove the cloudy natural lens causing cataracts.
They will then carefully replace it with an intraocular lens (IOL), a permanent artificial lens. This lens is crystal clear, akin to your original lens.
Moreover, IOLs can correct refractive errors, reducing your dependence on glasses or contacts. With various IOL options available, your specialist can guide you to select the one that suits you. Cataract surgery ensures improved vision, allowing you to resume your daily activities with greater clarity and less reliance on corrective eyewear.
Can Early Stage Cataract be cured without Surgery?
Now, if you’re having an early stage cataract and dread surgery, you may wonder, if early stage cataract can be cured without surgery or just want to ask your cataract specialist; how do you treat early stage cataracts? Here’s what a top cataract specialist will want you to understand in this scenario;
To begin, cataracts are managed primarily through surgery. However, immediate surgery might not be necessary for early-stage cases. Detecting cataracts early offers options beyond surgery. So, if you’re dealing with an early stage cataracts, your cataract specialist might prescribe new glasses with a stronger lens to enhance your vision temporarily.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t remove the cataract. The only advantage it comes with is that, it can help you see better for a period.
However, as cataracts progress, surgery becomes more likely. It’s essential to keep regular check-ups with your eye specialist to monitor the cataract’s development and determine the right time for surgery. This proactive approach ensures timely treatment, preserving your vision and daily activities.
And, What Makes Cataracts Worse?
There is a myriad of factors that can play a role in the advancement of cataracts. These factors may speed up the advancement of cataracts, clouding your vision faster.
That said, if diagnosed with an early stage cataracts, there are a couple of things your cataract specialist will want you to understand. On the same note, there are specific habits they may want you to adopt to prevent cataracts from worsening. Here are seven things that make cataracts worse and you should avoid;
- Ultraviolet (UV) Exposure: Prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV radiation can speed up cataract development. The UV rays harm the proteins in your eye’s lens, causing cloudiness. Safeguard your eyes by wearing UV-protective sunglasses whenever you’re outside, even on cloudy days. This precaution shields your eyes from harmful rays and slows down cataract growth.
- Smoking: Smoking harms more than your lungs; it worsens cataracts too. Chemicals in tobacco smoke cause oxidative stress in the lens, damaging its structure. This accelerates cataract formation. Quitting smoking is good for overall health and can slow vision decline due to cataracts.
- Uncontrolled Diabetes: Diabetes raises cataract risk and worsens them. High blood sugar leads to sorbitol accumulation in the lens, causing swelling and cloudiness. Managing diabetes with medication, diet, and exercise helps prevent worsening cataracts.
- Poor Diet: A nutrient-deficient diet speeds up cataract progression. Antioxidants like vitamins C and E, plus lutein and zeaxanthin in leafy greens, shield the lens from free radical damage. Eating diverse fruits and vegetables provides these nutrients and supports eye health.
- Obesity: Maintaining a healthy weight is vital for eye health. Obesity ups cataract risk and worsens them. Being overweight affects lens metabolism, aiding cataract development. A balanced diet and regular exercise manage weight and prevent cataract progression.
- Excessive Alcohol Consumption: Overdrinking affects eyes, advancing cataracts. Alcohol promotes lens oxidative stress, forming cloudy areas. Limiting alcohol or avoiding it supports eye health and slows cataract growth.
- Poorly Managed Hypertension: High blood pressure harms eyes and worsens cataracts. Blood vessels in the eyes suffer due to high pressure, reducing blood flow to the lens and other eye parts. This accelerates cataract development. Monitoring blood pressure and following medical advice for hypertension management preserves vision.
Should I Eat before Cataract Surgery?
Cataract surgery is a common and safe procedure for restoring clear vision. However, like any other procedure, it also does come with a few risks.
To ensure safety and the success of the procedure, there are specific guidelines your cataract specialist will want you to observe regarding eating and drinking before the procedure. They include;
- Fasting before Surgery: Before your cataract surgery, you’ll need to follow a fasting period to ensure your stomach is empty. This is typically around 6 hours before the surgery. This means no solid food during this time. The reason behind this is to prevent the possibility of vomiting while under anesthesia, which could be risky. Therefore, refraining from eating for this designated period is crucial.
- Liquids before Surgery: As for liquids, the rules are slightly different. It’s important to avoid thick liquids like milk, cream, orange juice, and prune juice after midnight on the day of your surgery. Thick liquids could also pose a risk during anesthesia. However, you’re encouraged to drink clear liquids up to 2 hours before the surgery. You can drink; coffee, tea, apple juice, water, soft drinks, or even meat broth. The key here is clarity. The liquids should be clear and won’t leave any residue.
- Sugar and Dairy: While you’re allowed to have sugar in your coffee and tea before the surgery, it’s important to note that no milk products are allowed during the fasting period. Dairy products can also contribute to the thickness of liquids. So, they are to be avoided.
It’s a Wrap!
Cataract surgery is not just a medical procedure. It is a life-changer. It is literally your best route to reclaiming your clear vision and independence from eyeglasses or contacts.
So, are you ready to see the world with renewed clarity? Contact us today to explore your candidacy for cataract surgery in Singapore.
