The Dangers of Leaving Cataracts Untreated
- Posted on: Jan 27 2016
With summer underway it can be tempting to put aside important health issues and take care of them later. Cataracts, however, cause more issues down the line the longer they are left untreated, decreasing a patient’s quality of life and independence as vision becomes increasingly cloudy, and even becoming more difficult to remove if neglected long enough.
Health Problems from Untreated Cataracts
A cataract, which is a cloudy lens that tends to get worse over time, may begin as a mild interference with daily life, but can lead to significant vision loss as it progresses. Since cataracts do gradually become blurrier and more opaque, be sure to take the diagnosis seriously and periodically schedule examinations with your eye doctor, even if the cataract does not seem to be a problem yet.
Left untreated, cataracts can progress and put you at risk for accidental injuries, glaucoma, and even blindness. After leaving your symptoms untreated for a long time, cataract surgery becomes more difficult and puts you at a higher risk for complications. Since surgery on advanced cataracts is more complicated, it’s important to identify and treat your cataracts as soon as they begin to pose significant problems with your vision and daily life. If you wait until the later stages of cataract development before undergoing surgery, you may miss out on years of good vision and ultimately have less successful surgical and visual results.
How to Improve Your Quality of Life
Modern cataract surgery, which only requires several weeks of recovery, fully replaces a faulty lens and is able to restore vision to its optimal level, often giving you a new lease on life. In fact, the Blue Mountains Eye Study’s results suggest that by undergoing cataract surgery, the patients examined afterward had a 60% lower risk of death. This lowered death rate is attributed primarily to a decreased chance of sustaining injuries from falling as well as to decreased levels of depression after surgery.
If your cataracts are beginning to mature and interfere with your daily life, call us today at (518) 475-1515 to schedule an appointment. Our team at Cornea Consultants of Albany is happy to answer any questions you may have about treating cataracts and improving your quality of life.
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