December is a time for enjoying bright, beautiful holiday light displays. But if those cheerful string lights look less like pinpoints of color and more like a hazy smear, a fuzzy halo, or a blinding starburst, it might be a sign that your vision is changing. Increased glare and halos around lights, especially when driving at night, are common early indicators of Cataracts.
Cataracts occur when the natural lens inside your eye becomes cloudy, causing a progressive loss of clarity. The specialists at South West Eye Care encourage you to pay close attention to any changes you notice this holiday season.
Key Vision Changes to Watch For
Cataracts interfere with how light reaches your retina, leading to these tell-tale signs:
- Glare and Halos: The most common symptom. The cloudy lens scatters bright light, causing significant glare, halos, or starbursts around sources like headlights, streetlights, and, of course, holiday displays.
- Cloudy or Blurry Vision: Your vision may gradually become hazy, making everything look dull or slightly fogged over, as if a filter has been placed over your eyes.
- Difficulty with Night Driving: The combination of blinding glare from oncoming traffic and generally poor contrast sensitivity makes driving after dusk increasingly unsafe.
- Fading Colors: Colors that once looked vibrant may start to appear faded or take on a yellowish or brownish tint.
The good news is that cataracts are treatable! When your cataracts begin to interfere with daily life, cataract surgery is a routine, effective procedure to remove the cloudy lens and restore clear, sharp vision.
