Glare on the Evening Drive Home From Coast Village Road? A Montecito Guide to Cataract Symptoms and When to Get Checked

Dinner on Coast Village Road, then the drive home in the dark along the 101 or up through the winding Montecito lanes. If oncoming headlights have started to look like starbursts, or the menu was harder to read under restaurant lighting than it used to be, a cataract may be part of the reason.

What a cataract is

The National Eye Institute (NEI) describes a cataract as a cloudy area in the lens of the eye, the clear part that helps focus light. Cataracts are very common with age: NEI notes that more than half of all Americans age 80 or older either have cataracts or have had surgery to remove them.

Symptoms NEI lists

• Cloudy or blurry vision
• Colors that look faded
• Trouble seeing well at night
• Lamps, sunlight or headlights that seem too bright
• A halo around lights
• Double vision, which sometimes goes away as the cataract grows
• Frequent changes to your glasses or contact lens prescription

NEI advises talking with your eye doctor about any of these, because they can also signal other eye problems.

Who is at higher risk

Risk rises with age. NEI also lists diabetes, smoking, drinking too much alcohol, a family history of cataracts, and other factors. For sunny coastal living, sun protection is a sensible habit for many reasons.

The good news

NEI says cataract surgery is safe and corrects vision problems caused by cataracts, and that it is one of the most common operations in the United States. There is rarely a need to rush, but there is also no reason to keep driving with glare that makes you uncomfortable.

Start with a video visit

Our office is in Westlake Village, about 60 miles down the 101 from Montecito, so I prefer not to ask anyone to make that drive without a reason. Start with a free VIP video consult. We talk through your symptoms, your driving and reading needs and your eye history, and tell you honestly whether an in-person exam makes sense. Year-end is a good time to start, since many people like to plan care around the new year’s calendar. Call (805) 230-2126.

Some people with cataracts also have cornea conditions that affect planning; this cornea education blog explains several of them.

Glare at night is not something you simply have to live with. Finding out why is the first step.

Source: Cataracts (National Eye Institute (NIH)). This article is an educational summary written by Khanna Vision Institute and is not a substitute for medical advice.