EP #12: Exploring the Intricacies of Cataracts and their Indicators

Ever wondered why those LED headlights seem to glare more than they used to? Or why you're squinting against sunlight even through your trusted sunglasses? It's time to unwind these mysteries and more as we demystify the term 'cataracts'. Join us, Dr. Laura Falco and Jeremy Wolf, on the Jazzy Eyes podcast as we navigate the cloudy waters of cataracts, and illuminate how they're an inevitable part of the aging process, much like grey hairs and wrinkles.

As we uncover this phenomenon, we discuss the early warning signs - from glare at night to difficulties in broad daylight. We reveal how your regular eye checks can help detect these symptoms early, and why a comprehensive eye examination is crucial. As cataracts progress, your simple prescriptions fail to sharpen your vision. When this happens, we highlight the need for a surgical intervention. So, don't miss out on this enlightening episode, whether you're concerned about your eye health or just intrigued about the aging process. Let's clear the haze together on the Jazzy Eyes podcast.

For more information visit: JazzyEyes.com

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Jazzy Eyes podcast.
Taking care of your vision withexpert precision.
Here's your host, dr LauraFalco.

Jeremy (00:15):
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode
of the Jazzy Eyes podcast.
I'm your co-host, Jeremy Wolfe,and I'm joined by your host, Dr
Laura Falco.
Dr Falco, good to see you again.

Dr. Falco (00:26):
Good to see you too.

Jeremy (00:27):
We're on the heels of Thanksgiving.
I hope you had a wonderfulholiday with your family.
We're here on Cyber Monday.
Yes, get excited.
It's holiday time, time to buya bunch of gifts for Christmas
and all that fun stuff.
Get excited, get excited.
Today.
I know that you wanted to talkabout cataracts.

(00:50):
If most people are like me,cataracts is a term that they've
heard before, but if asked toprovide a definition of what it
actually is, I think most peoplewould have a hard time doing so
.
Why don't you start off bytelling everybody what cataracts
are, and then we could talk alittle bit about some of the

(01:11):
various symptoms and things ofthat nature?

Dr. Falco (01:17):
Yes, cataracts are a normal part of aging.
They're just like gettingwrinkles and getting gray hairs.
Cataract is a normal agingprocess of the lens inside the
eye.
When we're born, our lens istypically super crystal clear.
As we age the lens starts tobecome not so clear, a little

(01:38):
hazy, and then as we becomeolder 60s, 70s, typically at
that age and people developdifferently, we start to develop
a real clouding of the lens inthe eye and that is a normal
part of aging and it's acataract.
So most of my patients, thefirst couple of things they will

(02:03):
complain about, is a glare atnight.
I mean, these headlights areridiculous.
These new LED headlights arereally hard for everybody.
But when the lens in your eyeis cloudy, that super high
energy light really does createa ton of glare.
So my patients originally willsay I just can't see at night

(02:24):
anymore.
That's a very typical firstcomplaint Trouble at night
because less light is getting toyour retina, because the lens
in your eye is cloudy.
So patients will complain ofglare and especially halos at
night.

Jeremy (02:41):
OK, that makes sense.
So, and I'm trying to, asyou're saying this, I'm thinking
am I experiencing thesesymptoms?
Hopefully not.
I know you just gave me a.
Is this something that I'dimagine?
That through a routine eyecheck, you can start to see
these things developing?
And I'm good, I'm good, right,you would have mentioned

(03:02):
something to me.
You're good, I'm still young.

Dr. Falco (03:07):
So as part of a comprehensive eye examination, I
dilate the pupils, and everyoneloves that.
Nobody really wants to gettheir eyes dilated ever.

Jeremy (03:17):
But I don't mind.

Dr. Falco (03:19):
This is one of the things that we really cannot see
without a dilated eye exam.
There's no retinal cameras thatimage the back of the eye
through a small pupil.
You can't see the lens.
So if you really want toevaluate if somebody's starting
cataracts or how much theircataract is progressing, the
eyes have to be dilated.
And I do want to add to likeafter patients start to

(03:42):
experience the nighttime glaredifficulty in the dark, the
halos at night will progress to.
When it's super, super brightout, it's also very hard to see
because if you think about thelens in your eye that the
light's passing through isbecoming harder and harder to
see through.
The super bright light duringthe day also creates glare.

(04:03):
So sometimes you know, first westart with nighttime glare,
that's typical Then we go withdaytime glare and then, when the
cataracts continue to progress,we start to have a decrease in
vision, which means that evenwith my very best prescription
for you, I cannot get you to see2020 anymore, because the blur

(04:25):
and is coming from inside thelens.
It's becoming opacified, it'sno longer clear, it's hazy, it's
white.
It's a little glass's lens thatcan fix that.
So that's at that point.
We are now going to talk aboutreferrals to a surgeon to have
cataract surgery, where theyremove the lens and put in an

(04:49):
implant.

Jeremy (04:52):
That was actually going to be my next question what to
do when you know the situationcan't be treated through normal
means and you need to actuallygo seek a referral to get
surgery.
So why don't we pick that up inanother segment and we will go
from there?
So we will see you on the nextsegment.

(05:12):
Perfect, all right.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
Thank you for listening to the Jazzy Eyes
podcast.
For more information, visitJazzyEyescom or contact
954-473-0100.