Cataracts
Clearer vision at every age.
By age 80, more than half of Americans have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.
Cataracts are the best-known eye condition that comes with age. If your vision changes in a way you can't explain, let us take a look.
What are cataracts?
The lens inside your eye is normally clear. Over time, proteins in the lens break down and cloud it, so things look hazy, blurry or less colorful. Cataracts usually develop in both eyes, though often unevenly.
Signs of cataracts
- Cloudy, blurry or dim vision
- More sensitivity to glare and bright light
- Colors that look faded or yellowed
- Trouble driving at night, or halos around lights
- Needing brighter light to read
- Double vision in one eye
Who is at risk?
Age is the main factor, and cataracts often run in families. Other risks include:
- A lot of sun exposure
- Diabetes or high blood pressure
- Long-term steroid use
- Smoking or heavy alcohol use
- A past eye injury, inflammation or eye surgery
Slowing them down
- Regular eye exams to catch early changes
- Sunglasses that block UV rays, and a hat in the sun
- A diet rich in fruits and vegetables
- Not smoking, and limiting alcohol
Diagnosis and treatment
We diagnose cataracts with a slit lamp exam, vision testing and a retinal exam. Early on, an updated glasses prescription often keeps your vision clear. When that's no longer enough, we'll refer you to a trusted cataract surgeon and help care for you before and after surgery (surgery co-management).
A patient's story
Lewis came to Dr. Tumolo with questions about cataract surgery. Here he shares how the scans helped him understand his cataracts and how Dr. Tumolo guided him through surgery.
Read the transcript
Hi, my name is Lewis. I came here to Beyond 2020 and met Dr. Tumolo because I was suffering with a specific condition, and I had a lot of questions about a procedure that I had to get for cataracts. He helped me to extinguish the fears that I had regarding the surgery, and he guided me through it. I had a wonderful experience, and the outcome was wonderful, thanks to him.
How did you find our office?
My wife was referred here, and she just happened to mention to Dr. Tumolo about my condition. She told me that she met him and how good he was in terms of making her feel comfortable about her situation, and I asked her to set me up an appointment with him when my condition started taking a turn for the worse.
How was your experience with our staff?
Wonderful. Fantastic. Great people here.
How was your experience with Dr. Tumolo?
Absolutely wonderful. I feel very comfortable with him. I’ve been to a lot of eye doctors and seen some special surgeons that deal with my situation, and he is perhaps the best that I have ever worked with.
Give us a synopsis, from start to finish, of the care you received here.
The care I received here is fantastic. From the first day I came here, being able to see my eyes on the computer from the scans was just incredible. He pointed out the cataracts that I had, and I could see that they were a serious problem. It just opened the door for me to be able to get the surgery and move forward.
Would you recommend us to other patients?
Absolutely. Without question, absolutely.
Seen through our slit lamp
These photos and videos were taken with the camera on our slit lamp microscope during real exams and are shared without any identifying details.
Narrated by Dr. Tumolo
“I took my 96 year old mother here for her exam and it was an amazing experience! Dr. Tumolo and the entire team were so patient, kind and professional. Everything is so clean and it’s a beautiful office.”John M. · Odessa, Google review