Cataracts

Cataract Diagnosis and Treatment at Powers Eye Center

Have you ever tried to see through an active waterfall? If so, the results resemble the effects of cataracts, an eye disease named after the Latin term for “waterfall” for its tendency to obscure vision. The progressive cloudiness that develops in one or both eyes can cause a variety of visual impediments that limit your quality of life. Fortunately, our optometrist at Powers Eye Center, Dr. McAllister, can help you get the most of your vision through prompt, professional cataract diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

How cataracts cloud your vision

A cataract isn’t an intruder or addition to your eye’s anatomy; instead, it is a thickening or clumping-together of proteins that have always existed in the eye’s lens. These proteins usually remain invisible, with no effects on your vision, due to a careful arrangement that allows light to pass through the lens to the retina. But once the proteins lose their position and come together, they start to form a solid, opaque, white-colored mass that interferes with that incoming light. The resulting changes in your eyesight may be all but undetectable at first, but as time passes you may experience:

• Changes in the appearance of colors, especially blue
• Reduced contrast range
• Blurring of vision
• Increased sensitivity to glare

Sunbursts, halos, or other radiating patterns around lamps, headlights and other light sources
Why do people suffer from cataracts? In most individuals, it’s a natural consequence of the aging process. People who fail to protect their eyes consistently against UV rays (from natural sunlight to tanning booths) may experience worse or earlier-onset cataracts. Diabetics and users of steroid medications may experience subcapsular cataracts (growing from the back of the lens) or cortical cataracts (which form spoke-like patterns on the lens), both of which may develop more quickly than age-related nuclear cataracts (which form at the front of the lens). Alcohol consumption and smoking can also affect cataract development.

We help cataract patients maintain optimal eyesight

While cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide, there’s no reason your cataracts should necessarily lead you to the same fate. In fact, most cataracts cause no or minimal vision issues for many years before they start to become a problem. We can detect even the tiniest traces of cataracts in a comprehensive eye exam, using a slit lamp to examine the lens of the eye. If we diagnose cataracts, we then monitor your condition carefully from year to year. Regular vision tests, corrective lenses, lens filters (to filter glare), lifestyle changes, and UV protection can help you keep seeing relatively clearly for quite some time. If your cataracts need to be removed, we co-manage cataract surgery with some of Colorado’s finest eye surgeons. At Powers Eye Center, we can prepare you for that quick, painless procedure and then manage your recovery.

Call Our Colorado Springs Office for an Appointment

Cataracts can cut you off from the world around you, but only if you let them. Call our Colorado Springs optometry office, 719-598-5068, to schedule an eye exam today or schedule an appointment online now. We can help you overcome the challenges posed by those cloudy lenses for many more years of clear vision!