Eye health is about more than the ability to see. It is also about maintaining a healthy pressure inside your eye. It's about making sure issues like ocular cancer are detected early so they can be treated. You rely on your eyes almost every minute of every day, so of course you want to take eye health seriously — every aspect of it. You can learn more about the breadth of eye care and the work of optometrists on this blog. Reading here is not a replacement for seeing your optometrist, but it can be a good way to boost your knowledge.
When your cataracts get to a certain point, they may require surgical intervention by your eye doctor. Cataracts occur when the proteins present in your eyes' natural lenses start to wear down, causing the eye to go cloudy over time. The lens that exists on your eyes works to make light refract so you can see clearly, so when this lens is all clouded up, it's harder to see and vision problems occur.
Age is the main way that cataracts occur in the first place, although there are other ways you can get them, such as by smoking, by taking certain medications, or even by having diabetes. When your cataracts are small, they may not even be noticeable at all, but as they spread and you get older, you may notice vision changes that need to be brought up to your eye doctor.
Here are signs that your cataracts are getting worse and need medical attention by your eye doctor. Make an appointment right away if you notice any of the following and have or suspect you have cataracts.
Your vision is worse in certain spots
Did you know that you can have a cataract in one eye and not the other? Or a cataract can be worse in one eye than the other, leading to varying degrees of severity. If you only have blurry vision when staring at the middle of something or you can see clearly when looking one way but not the other, then your cataracts can be getting worse and need your eye doctor to examine them.
Your vision is turning double
Blurry vision is common with a cataract, but so is having layered or double vision. If the edges of what and who you're looking at look blurred or stamped on top of, like a photograph that won't come into focus, then your vision may be worsening due to your cataracts.
Your vision is dimming
Sometimes, the cloudiness associated with cataracts makes you see things more dully, like you're looking at everything through a sepia-colored lens. Or, colors can become more muted in one or both eyes. If colors aren't matching up lately or you have people asking if you're colorblind, then your cataracts may be to blame.
Cataracts not only make your eyes feel like they are cloudy, but they may also appear bluish or white over the black part of the eye. If you can see your cataracts getting cloudier or bigger, then schedule an appointment with your eye doctor. This is yet another sign that your cataracts are getting worse.
To learn more, contact a resource like Maroudis & Morton OD PSC.