{"id":199,"date":"2022-03-10T19:14:15","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T19:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/?p=199"},"modified":"2025-05-07T17:27:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T17:27:47","slug":"what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/","title":{"rendered":"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As we age, our eyes weaken and cataracts can begin to form on the lenses. This cloudy, flim-like material causes a number of vision problems, from worsening nearsightedness to the inability to see well in dim light\u2013or in some cases, double vision and faded colors. Most people get cataract surgery to resolve these concerns and are able to see well, sometimes even better than 20\/20 vision, and improve their quality of life. But what happens when cataracts are left untreated?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Untreated Cataracts\u2013What Eye Concerns Will Be Caused?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cataracts won\u2019t improve on their own. Once they appear, only a surgical procedure can resolve them. Left untreated, cataracts will continue to worsen over time. As they get worse and worse, the vision becomes more and more impaired, affecting skills such as driving, reading, and work<br>skills. Enjoyment of life is also diminished, as TV can no longer be enjoyed, outdoor activities can become almost impossible as the eyes become more sensitive to light, and hobbies and sports are things that can\u2019t be personally enjoyed or even watched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The deteriorating loss of vision and worsening vision distortion has a significant negative effect on a person\u2019s quality of life. Ultimately, the worst case will occur with untreated cataracts\u2013total blindness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Older Man trying to read with Glasses on\" class=\"wp-image-201 pt-20\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1-2048x1367.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the Bright Side<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the above sounds bleak, and it is, the good news is that cataracts are easily treated. Cataract surgery is a simple procedure that is performed to remove and replace the cloudy lens. With experienced surgeon, it takes only about 15 minutes to complete, is very low risk, and provides an astounding success rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We recommend that you don\u2019t wait when it comes to getting your cataract surgery. If you suffer from blurred, worsening vision and your cataracts are beginning to affect you negatively, get the surgery before serious vision impairment begins to set in. Left untreated, cataracts can become hyper-mature. This makes them more difficult to remove and can even cause surgery complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once vision problems develop, patients are generally able to get cataract surgery, and these early cases result in the best outcomes. At Pacific Vision Institute, we are happy to consult with you to discuss when the best time is for your cataract surgery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we age, our eyes weaken and cataracts can begin to form on the lenses. This cloudy, flim-like material causes a number of vision problems, from worsening nearsightedness to the inability to see well in dim light\u2013or in some cases, double vision and faded colors. Most people get cataract surgery to resolve these concerns and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated?<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cataracts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog. Explore our library of educational articles designed to help you make informed decisions about your eye health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog. Explore our library of educational articles designed to help you make informed decisions about your eye health.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pacific Vision Institute Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-10T19:14:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-07T17:27:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2119\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1414\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"studio3\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"studio3\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/\",\"name\":\"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1-1024x683.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-10T19:14:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-07T17:27:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5fbfe1a3dbe15ef484fb82908cdb22\"},\"description\":\"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog. Explore our library of educational articles designed to help you make informed decisions about your eye health.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1.jpg\",\"width\":2119,\"height\":1414,\"caption\":\"Mature male office worker having eyesight problems while reading paperwork with small text\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Pacific Vision Institute Blog\",\"description\":\"Pacific Vision Institute\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5fbfe1a3dbe15ef484fb82908cdb22\",\"name\":\"studio3\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c5ffeafe60563b0bf588751b0c77210cd130d78326974eaf8107bd04097d202?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c5ffeafe60563b0bf588751b0c77210cd130d78326974eaf8107bd04097d202?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"studio3\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/author\/studio3\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog","description":"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog. Explore our library of educational articles designed to help you make informed decisions about your eye health.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog","og_description":"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog. Explore our library of educational articles designed to help you make informed decisions about your eye health.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/","og_site_name":"Pacific Vision Institute Blog","article_published_time":"2022-03-10T19:14:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-07T17:27:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2119,"height":1414,"url":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"studio3","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"studio3","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/","name":"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1-1024x683.jpg","datePublished":"2022-03-10T19:14:15+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-07T17:27:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5fbfe1a3dbe15ef484fb82908cdb22"},"description":"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated? - Pacific Vision Institute Blog. Explore our library of educational articles designed to help you make informed decisions about your eye health.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/iStock-597272866-1.jpg","width":2119,"height":1414,"caption":"Mature male office worker having eyesight problems while reading paperwork with small text"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/what-would-happen-if-cataracts-were-left-untreated\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Would Happen if Cataracts Were Left Untreated?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/","name":"Pacific Vision Institute Blog","description":"Pacific Vision Institute","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5fbfe1a3dbe15ef484fb82908cdb22","name":"studio3","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c5ffeafe60563b0bf588751b0c77210cd130d78326974eaf8107bd04097d202?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c5ffeafe60563b0bf588751b0c77210cd130d78326974eaf8107bd04097d202?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"studio3"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/author\/studio3\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":359,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions\/359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificvision.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}