Is Dry Eye Disease a Symptom of Cataracts?

When your eyes feel gritty, irritated, or excessively watery, you may assume it’s simply due to dry eye disease. But if you’re also experiencing blurry or cloudy vision, you might wonder if these symptoms are connected to cataracts. Although dry eye disease and cataracts can occur in the same patients, they are separate conditions. Understanding the differences and how they can influence each other is important for protecting your vision and overall eye health.

Understanding Cataracts

A cataract forms when the natural lens of the eye becomes clouded, which prevents light from focusing properly on the retina. This clouding can lead to several vision changes, including blurry or cloudy vision, difficulty seeing at night, increased sensitivity to glare and bright lights, and colors appearing faded or yellowed. Cataracts typically develop slowly over time as part of the natural aging process, but they can also result from eye injuries, certain medications, or systemic health conditions such as diabetes.

What Is Dry Eye Disease?

Dry eye disease occurs when your tears are either insufficient in quantity or lack the proper quality to keep your eyes lubricated. This can cause a gritty or burning sensation, redness, blurred vision that often improves with blinking, and even excessive tearing as the eyes attempt to compensate for dryness. Common causes include aging, environmental factors like wind or dry climates, prolonged contact lens use, and conditions such as meibomian gland dysfunction.

The Connection Between Dry Eye and Cataracts

While dry eye disease is not a symptom of cataracts, the two conditions can overlap, particularly in older adults. There are a few key points to understand:
 

• Shared Risk Factors: Both cataracts and dry eye disease are more common with age, hormonal changes, and certain systemic diseases. It’s possible to have both conditions simultaneously without one causing the other.

• Impact on Cataract Surgery: If you have cataracts and also suffer from dry eye disease, the dryness can affect the accuracy of pre-surgical measurements for intraocular lenses (IOLs) and may slow your recovery. Ophthalmologists often treat dry eye before cataract surgery to ensure the best outcomes.

• Surgery-Related Dryness: Some patients develop temporary or worsened dry eye symptoms after cataract surgery. This is due to factors like surgical incisions, temporary nerve disruption, or increased light exposure during surgery. Fortunately, with proper management, most patients experience improvement.

Why Proper Diagnosis Is Key

Because dry eye disease and cataracts can both cause blurry vision, it’s important not to self-diagnose. Our ophthalmologist can perform a comprehensive eye exam that includes a tear film evaluation and lens assessment to determine the exact cause of your symptoms and create a tailored treatment plan.

Get Clear Answers for Your Eye Health

Dry eye disease is not a direct symptom of cataracts, but the two conditions can coexist and influence each other’s management - especially if cataract surgery is needed. If you’re experiencing dryness, irritation, or vision changes, it’s important to have a thorough eye examination to pinpoint the cause and protect your sight.

At Quality Eye Care, we specialize in diagnosing and treating both dry eye disease and cataracts. Schedule your eye exam and get a personalized plan to protect and improve your sight. Contact our office in Jacksonville, Florida, by calling (904) 601-1300 to book an appointment today.