Sage-Tips

Can you go blind if cataracts are not removed?

Over time, cataracts become worse and start to interfere with vision. Important skills can be affected, such as driving, and loss of vision can affect the overall quality of life in many ways including reading, working, hobbies and sports. If left untreated, cataracts will eventually cause total blindness.

What happens if a cataract is not removed?

If left untreated cataracts can cause total blindness. The main treatment for cataracts is eye surgery. Sometimes changing your eyeglass prescription will help improve your vision, but often it will not. Eye doctors recommend having cataract surgery before your cataracts start seriously affecting your vision.

What happens if you wait too long for cataract surgery?

Patients who wait more than 6 months for cataract surgery may experience negative outcomes during the wait period, including vision loss, a reduced quality of life and an increased rate of falls.

Is blindness from cataracts permanent?

Vision Loss From Cataracts Is Different Vision loss from glaucoma or macular degeneration is permanent. Once it’s gone it’s gone. But, blindness from cataracts can be completely reversed. By having your cataracts removed during cataract surgery you can regain clear vision.

Is cataract surgery always necessary?

Cataracts only need removal when they cause significant vision loss. How will you know that you are ready to undergo cataract surgery? The only way to tell for sure is to have an eye doctor track your progress.

Is it possible to cure cataract without surgery?

Unfortunately, there’s no way to get rid of cataracts without cataract surgery. Some ophthalmologists are exploring alternatives, but at this time, only cataract surgery can cure your cataracts.

Is cataract surgery really necessary?

Cataracts can cause blurry vision and increase the glare from lights. If a cataract makes it difficult for you to carry out your normal activities, your doctor may suggest cataract surgery. When a cataract interferes with the treatment of another eye problem, cataract surgery may be recommended.

Can cataracts lead to blindness?

Cataracts are a leading cause of blindness among older adults in the United States. More than half of all Americans have cataracts by the time they are 80 years old. Cataracts can also sometimes be found in young people or even newborn babies.

How can cataracts lead to blindness?

These are the most common symptoms associated with cataracts and can eventually lead to blindness if left untreated. The reason these symptoms occur is that the once-clear lens of the eye has become cloudy. The clouded lens does not let light through normally to the retina.

Can anything dissolve cataracts?

The only treatment for cataracts is cataract surgery, which replaces the clouded lens with an artificial one. A cataract is not a substance. Unlike a film of soap scum on glass, cataracts cannot be wiped away or dissolved, and the FDA has not approved any medication that can do so.

What happens if cataracts are left untreated?

Untreated cataracts result in vision loss. If left untreated, the cataract impairs vision completely. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world, but a simple, fifteen-minute outpatient surgery can restore clear vision. Cataracts interfere with daily activities.

Can cataracts make you go blind?

Yes — if left untreated, cataracts cause continual loss of vision, eventually leading to legal blindness or even total blindness. But when people hear the word “blindness,” many assume that severe vision loss is permanent and cannot be cured.

When is the right time to have cataracts removed?

Usually the autumn will be the best time to remove cataracts in a year because there is a lot of invisible bacterium in the spring and summer. You could have the good rest for the eyes before the surgery. After the surgery, you need to keep the healthy diet, eating more food with vitamin C to moisture the eyes.

What is a cure for cataract?

Surgical removal of the clouded lens is the only effective cure for cataract (clouding of the normally clear lens of the eye). There are no drugs, eye drops, diets, exercises, or glasses proven to reverse the problem. When cataract is the only problem, surgery is very successful at restoring vision.