Contact lenses can be a preferable choice for lots of people, but there are some eye health issues and visual conditions that need certain precautions when using these lenses. Using contact lenses after you have actually had cataracts eliminated surgically is not a problem as long as the eyes have actually had adequate time to heal. A cataract is the official term to describe a ‘clouding’ that occurs on the lens of the eye. The lens is the clear part of your eyeball which works to focus light rays onto the retina at the back of the eye.
Can I Wear Contact Lenses After Cataract Surgery?
Normally, light go through the lens into the light-sensitive retina. Cataracts are generally associated with the natural aging process and are more typical in senior people. It can be present in one or both eyes, although it doesn’t ‘spread out’ from one to the other. They are caused by a ‘clumping’ of protein on the lens. Naturally, the lens is made up of a mix of water and protein. The protein is developed to let light travel through while also keeping the lens area clean. Nevertheless, gradually this protein can begin to collaborate and produce a ‘cloud’ on a small part of the lens. If left unattended, it can grow larger and obstruct more of your vision.
There are numerous options for treatment. Minor cataracts may be enhanced with brand-new glasses, anti-glare sunglasses or using magnifying lenses. The last step of treatment is typically a cataract surgery, which eliminates the lens entirely and changes it with an artificial version in your eye. This is known as an Intraocular Lens (IOL). One of the other benefits of this is that the IOL can be created to enhance your vision. That indicates you might not need any glasses or other aids to help you see things in the distance, although you might still need some correction for doing close up work. If you would still like to use contact lenses after the surgery, it is safe to do so.
Ophthalmologist Asked
Question: I had cataract surgery in both eyes about 15 years ago with monofocal lenses placed. For several years my vision was simply fine with the mono lenses (I had used mono contacts for years prior to the cataract surgery) but my near vision is starting to go and I need readers to see nearly all type sizes. Can I now have contact lenses to use over the mono cataract lenses or must I use readers forever?
Answer: To clarify some of these terms for our readers, it sounds as though you had cataract surgery with implantation of monofocal lenses in each eye. These monofocal lenses were used to achieve monovision, where one eye was set for distance and the other set for near.
To address your concern, unless you have another condition, you can almost certainly use contact lenses after having cataract surgery, and there are a range of options are available to you. You can use a contact that enhances the distance vision in the near eye, you can wear a contact that enhances the near vision in the distance eye, or you might even use a contact to improve the near vision in the near eye.