Cataracts are one of the most common eye conditions affecting older adults. While most people have heard of cataracts, there is often confusion about what they are, how they affect vision, and when treatment is necessary. Here are answers to some of the most common questions our patients ask about cataracts.
What exactly is a cataract?
A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens inside your eye. That lens sits behind the colored part of your eye (the iris) and normally helps focus light so you can see clearly. When the lens turns cloudy, light can’t pass through as easily. You may notice blurred or hazy vision, more glare, and trouble seeing in low light.
Cataracts usually develop slowly over time, not overnight.
What causes cataracts to develop?
The most common cause of cataracts is aging. As the eye’s lens ages, proteins can break down and clump together, creating cloudy areas. Other common risk factors include:
- Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light
- Diabetes
- Smoking
- Long-term use of steroid medications
- Eye injuries or previous eye surgery
- Family history of cataracts
What are the most common cataract symptoms?
Cataract symptoms often begin gradually and worsen over time. Common warning signs include:
- Blurry or cloudy vision
- Increased sensitivity to light or glare
- Difficulty seeing at night
- Colors appearing faded or yellowed
- Seeing halos around lights
- Frequent changes in eyeglass or contact lens prescriptions
Because these symptoms can also be associated with other eye conditions, a comprehensive eye exam is the best way to confirm whether cataracts are the cause.
Can cataracts be prevented?
While cataracts cannot always be prevented, certain lifestyle habits may help slow their progression. These include wearing sunglasses that block UV rays, eating a balanced diet rich in antioxidants, managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, avoiding smoking, and scheduling regular eye exams.
Is surgery always necessary?
Cataracts do not always require immediate surgery. In early stages, symptoms may be managed with updated eyeglasses, brighter lighting, or anti-glare lenses. However, if they begin to interfere with daily activities such as driving, reading, or working, cataract surgery may be recommended. Cataract surgery, which replaces the cloudy lens with a clear artificial one, is one of the most common and successful surgical procedures to restore vision.
Could they possibly go away on their own?
Unfortunately, no. Once a cataract forms, it does not clear up on its own or with eye drops, vitamins, or exercises. The lens will continue to get cloudier over time, although it can vary from person to person how quickly this happens. Stronger glasses or better lighting can help for a while. But as previously mentioned, surgery will likely eventually be needed once it progresses enough.
Regular Vision Exams at Family Vision Development Center Are Important for Cataract Detection
Routine eye exams are essential for detecting cataracts early, often before symptoms significantly affect vision. When you visit Family Vision Development Center for regular vision care, it allows us to monitor changes, recommend appropriate treatment, and ensure your eyes remain healthy as you age.
In addition to identifying cataracts, comprehensive vision exams can provide early detection of other vision problems like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic eye disease, which can all damage your vision without obvious early symptoms. Make vision a priority to protect your eyesight for as long as possible – schedule your appointment for a comprehensive eye exam by calling 630-862-2020.
Family Vision Development Center is a full-service vision center offering innovative vision therapy services, sports vision therapy services, post-concussive vision rehabilitation, comprehensive vision exams for eyeglasses and contact lenses, management of ocular diseases including glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration and cataracts, and a state-of-the-art optical center offering the latest designs in eyewear.
Regular vision exams play an important role in helping your child see clearly, learn effectively, and stay confident as they grow. But for many kids, a trip to the optometrist can seem intimidating, especially if they aren’t sure what to expect. Properly preparing your child for the appointment can help to make every vision exam a success. Here’s how to make the most of every exam as they grow.
Infants and Toddlers (6 months to 3 years)
Start early and stay calm. The American Optometric Association recommends a child’s first comprehensive vision exam around 6 months of age. These early exams are gentle, involving lights, pictures and observations rather than verbal responses.
How to prepare:
- Schedule the appointment during your child’s happiest time of day, such as after a nap and feeding if possible.
- Stay positive; babies sense your stress. Treat the visit like a fun “show and tell” about their eyes.
- Bring a favorite toy or blanket for comfort.
At these early appointments, we check eye alignment, movement, and basic visual development to ensure everything is on track.
Preschool and Early Elementary (Ages 3–7)
As your child becomes more verbal and aware of routines, making the experience playful is key.
How to prepare:
- Explain what will happen during the vision exam using simple, friendly language, such as “The doctor will look at your eyes with lights and show you pictures.”
- Play “pretend eye doctor” at home by letting your child look into your eyes with a flashlight or match letters and shapes on paper.
- Emphasize that there are no “right” or “wrong” answers, just ways to learn more about how well they see.
This is an important time to start building healthy habits and helping kids to form positive emotions when it comes to the eye doctor. Establishing a comfortable, happy experience now will help them look forward to these appointments, rather than feeling fear or anxiety.
School-Age Children (Ages 8–12)
By this stage, kids start to understand the connection between clear vision and school performance, sports, and hobbies.
How to prepare:
- Involve your child in the scheduling process and explain the importance of checking their eyes as they grow.
- Encourage them to ask questions during the vision exam and share whether they’ve noticed any vision issues, like trouble seeing the board or eye strain during reading.
- Highlight the link between healthy habits, like taking screen breaks and wearing protective eyewear, and strong vision.
If your child needs corrective lenses, talk about responsibility and care. Encourage more independence by letting them clean and store their glasses or contacts (if appropriate) on their own.
Teens and Pre-College (Ages 13–18)
By this age, they should be able to fully participate in the appointment experience and build the basis for continued vision care as they become adults.
How to prepare:
- Let your teen lead the conversation with the optometrist, as it encourages them to take ownership of their eye health.
- Let them be fully involved in the procedures and results, such as viewing their retinal images and asking questions on their own.
- Let them develop their personal style and self-expression by exploring different frame options and lens coatings that reflect their lifestyle and activities.
Your Vision Exam with Family Vision Development Center Supports Kids Through Every Age and Stage
Positive experiences with vision exams from an early age build lifelong comfort with vision care. When children feel informed, supported, and heard, they’re more likely to maintain good eye health into adulthood. We are your partner in that journey, ready to adjust strategies as your child grows, learns, and sees the world in new ways. Reach out to our team at 630-862-2020 to schedule your child’s appointment or to ask any questions.
Family Vision Development Center is a full-service vision center offering innovative vision therapy services, sports vision therapy services, post-concussive vision rehabilitation, comprehensive vision exams for eyeglasses and contact lenses, management of ocular diseases including glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration and cataracts, and a state-of-the-art optical center offering the latest designs in eyewear.
As students return to class for the second semester, many families focus on new academic goals for improved performance. Strengthening reading skills is often a common goal, but if your child struggles with reading, it may be about more than just comprehension or motivation. Often, the root of reading difficulties lies in how their eyes work together.
Good vision is more than just seeing clearly on an eye chart. Reading requires the eyes to perform complex movements and coordination, and these skills can’t always be corrected with glasses alone. Three of the most important visual skills for successful reading are eye teaming, eye tracking, and focusing. And fortunately, these skills can be built and improved through a structured, customized vision therapy program, giving students a real advantage in the classroom.
Eye Teaming
Eye teaming is the ability for both eyes to work together and aim at the same spot on a page. When this skill is weak, it can cause symptoms like double vision, eye strain, or losing your place while reading. Kids often avoid reading or get frustrated easily because it simply takes extra effort to keep both eyes aligned. Vision therapy helps strengthen eye teaming by using specialized exercises that train the brain and eye muscles to coordinate more efficiently. Over time, this helps reading become smoother and more comfortable.
Eye Tracking
Eye tracking is the ability to move the eyes smoothly across a line of text and quickly shift from one line to the next. Poor tracking can make reading feel choppy, like skipping words, re-reading sentences, or losing your place on the page. Through vision therapy, students practice controlled, precise eye movements, improving their tracking accuracy. Once this skill strengthens, it’s easier for them to read fluently and focus on understanding the story rather than just finding where they left off.
Focusing
Focusing, or accommodation, allows the eyes to shift between near and far distances and keep a clear image. If this skill is weak, switching from reading a book to looking at the board (or vice versa) can blur vision or cause headaches, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Vision therapy trains the eyes to adjust focus quickly and comfortably, making it easier for students to shift between classroom tasks without strain.
Explore Vision Therapy at Family Vision Development Center to Improve your Student’s Reading Skills
Second semester often brings more reading, longer homework assignments, and preparation for standardized tests, which place even greater demands on these three visual skills. A customized vision therapy program can give your child the visual tools to read more comfortably, stay focused longer, and feel more confident in the classroom. Our team has extensive training in a variety of advanced vision therapy techniques. After a comprehensive evaluation, we can develop a customized program to target your student’s specific concerns in order to improve their skills and increase their classroom success. Contact us at 630-862-2020 with any additional questions you might have, or to schedule an appointment today.
Family Vision Development Center is a full-service vision center offering innovative vision therapy services, sports vision therapy services, post-concussive vision rehabilitation, comprehensive vision exams for eyeglasses and contact lenses, management of ocular diseases including glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration and cataracts, and a state-of-the-art optical center offering the latest designs in eyewear. We are dedicated to keeping our patients comfortable and well-informed and we will explain every exam and procedure and answer all of your questions. We accept both scheduled and emergency appointments, and offer convenient financing and insurance options to ensure that high-quality vision care is available and affordable to all of our patients.
The start of a new year is the perfect time for a resolution. There are many appealing options, such as fitness or finances, but here’s one that will enrich your mind – resolve to learn a few new, interesting facts every day. Why? Because the world is full of amazing information, and learning keeps your brain sharp, which is a crucial component of your vision! To help you get started on your quest for knowledge, here are some little-known facts about your eyes, vision therapy, and the incredible connection between your eyes and brain.
General Vision and Eye Care Facts
These facts show just how remarkable your visual system truly is:
- The orbicularis oculi in the eye is the fastest reacting muscle in the human body. This muscle controls your blinking movement, and closes your eye in under one-tenth of a second!
- The cornea is the only tissue without blood vessels. The cornea (the clear front window of the eye) is the only tissue in the entire human body that receives its oxygen directly from the air, not from the bloodstream.
- We see upside down. The image focused onto your retina is actually upside down and backward. It is your amazing brain that flips the image and correctly orients it for you.
- You see more shades of green than any other color.
- Blinking is a helpful break. On average, you blink 15 to 20 times per minute, but when you are concentrating on a screen or reading, this rate can drop dramatically, leading to eye strain and dry eyes.
- 20/20 is not “Perfect”. Having 20/20 vision simply means you can see clearly at 20 feet what a person with normal vision can see at 20 feet. It is only a measure of central clarity and does not account for crucial skills like eye teaming, depth perception, or visual processing.
Vision Therapy Facts
Vision therapy is often misunderstood. It’s not just “eye exercises”. It’s a customized, specialized program to retrain the brain and eyes to work together effectively. Vision therapy is often compared to physical therapy for your eyes. Through guided exercises, patients can improve skills such as eye teaming, focusing, depth perception, and tracking.
- The retina in the human eye can transmit data at about 10 million bits per second, and your brain instantly interprets those signals to help you understand what you see.
- Undiagnosed vision problems can sometimes mimic symptoms of ADHD (like difficulty maintaining attention or fidgeting) because the visual effort required to read or focus is exhausting. Vision therapy can alleviate this strain.
- Vision therapy can benefit both children and adults with reading or learning difficulties tied to visual processing.
- Vision therapy can enhance sports performance, reading fluency and even concentration.
Facts About Post-Concussive Vision Care
After a concussion or brain injury, many people experience frustrating visual issues. These might include trouble focusing, dizziness while reading, blurred or double vision, or light sensitivity, which are all signs of visual system disruption.
Some eye-opening facts about post-concussive vision care:
- As many as 90% of concussion patients will experience visual symptoms during recovery
- Common symptoms are not always obvious. Post-concussion vision issues aren’t limited to blurred vision. They often manifest as headaches or nausea during visual tasks (like reading or screen time), sensitivity to light, or feeling overwhelmed in visually busy environments (like grocery stores).
- If visual symptoms persist for more than a few weeks after the injury, they are unlikely to resolve on their own. Specialized neuro-optometric rehabilitation is often the key to recovering skills like focusing, eye teaming, and visual processing to restore comfort and function.
Make 2026 a Year of Clearer Vision with Family Vision Development Center
As you commit to a year of learning new and amazing facts, remember to prioritize the health of the very organs that bring 80% of that information to you – your eyes! Regular comprehensive eye exams are vital for detecting diseases like glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy in their earliest, most treatable stages, often before you notice any symptoms. Whether you’re due for a routine check-up, need to discuss ongoing visual challenges, or are curious about vision therapy for yourself or a loved one, take the proactive step now. Contact us at 630-862-2020 for information or to schedule an appointment.
Family Vision Development Center is a full-service vision center offering innovative vision therapy services, sports vision therapy services, post-concussive vision rehabilitation, comprehensive vision exams for eyeglasses and contact lenses, management of ocular diseases including glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration and cataracts, and a state-of-the-art optical center offering the latest designs in eyewear.
