Cataract surgery for shooters
Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 11:57 am
I know that a number of people on here have had cataract surgery and more are probably heading that way so I wanted to share my recent experience from a shooter's perspective.
I have a left dominant eye but shoot right handed. Cataracts were devloping in both eyes, but the right eye was worse, with poor contrast and difficulty seeing anything against a bright background. The NHS won't operate until you're nearly blind so if you want to keep shooting you have to bite the bullet and spend the money you had saved up for a new rifle on private treatment.
I decided to avoid eye clinics as they can be impersonal production lines. Instead I searched online for the CVs of the local opthalmic consultants and got my optician to refer me to one I thought would be prepared to talk about my shooting needs. He was brilliant, although he did say that engineers are his most difficult patients!
The first choice you have to make is the type of implant (IOL) you want - standard, multifocal or accommodating.
Standard lenses give the best quality vision but at a fixed distance. You have to correct with spectacles or contact lenses for the other distances.
Multifocal lenses offer spectacle independence but there are disadvantages - slight loss of contrast and haloes around lights at night. Worst of all, and what the eye clinics don't tell you, is that these lenses prevent about 18% of available light from reaching your retina. That's not a problem early on but when you are very old and your retina is deteriorating you won't be able to see very well at all.
Accommodating lenses are clever hinged devices that mimic the natural lens's ability to focus, but need accurate fitting to avoid visual defects.
I went for a standard lens. The next decision is - what focal point? Most people choose distance (TV and beyond) then correct for near (computer) and reading. Some do it the other way round. My requirement was to be able to drive to a range and shoot without any correction. I'm happy to wear glasses for close up work and night driving.
After much research I settled on -1 dioptre for my right eye. I had the operation three weeks ago and it was alarmingly simple - very quick with no pain during or after and excellent vision within a couple of days (although it takes a few weeks to settle down completely). The consultant advised me not to start shooting again for a month, but in the meantime I have sighted in a few rifles and can confirm that there is sufficient adjustment in the focussing eyepiece of my scopes, and I can see well enough to shoot iron sights to at least 100 yards.
As I am naturally short sighted I wear a contact lens in my left eye (-1D for office work and distance for driving), and will eventually have a distance IOL fitted when that cataract starts annoying me.
Of course, everyone is different and a few people have problems with this procedure but for me it's been brilliant. The only downside is I will have to tear a page out of the book of excuses when I start shooting again ...
I have a left dominant eye but shoot right handed. Cataracts were devloping in both eyes, but the right eye was worse, with poor contrast and difficulty seeing anything against a bright background. The NHS won't operate until you're nearly blind so if you want to keep shooting you have to bite the bullet and spend the money you had saved up for a new rifle on private treatment.
I decided to avoid eye clinics as they can be impersonal production lines. Instead I searched online for the CVs of the local opthalmic consultants and got my optician to refer me to one I thought would be prepared to talk about my shooting needs. He was brilliant, although he did say that engineers are his most difficult patients!
The first choice you have to make is the type of implant (IOL) you want - standard, multifocal or accommodating.
Standard lenses give the best quality vision but at a fixed distance. You have to correct with spectacles or contact lenses for the other distances.
Multifocal lenses offer spectacle independence but there are disadvantages - slight loss of contrast and haloes around lights at night. Worst of all, and what the eye clinics don't tell you, is that these lenses prevent about 18% of available light from reaching your retina. That's not a problem early on but when you are very old and your retina is deteriorating you won't be able to see very well at all.
Accommodating lenses are clever hinged devices that mimic the natural lens's ability to focus, but need accurate fitting to avoid visual defects.
I went for a standard lens. The next decision is - what focal point? Most people choose distance (TV and beyond) then correct for near (computer) and reading. Some do it the other way round. My requirement was to be able to drive to a range and shoot without any correction. I'm happy to wear glasses for close up work and night driving.
After much research I settled on -1 dioptre for my right eye. I had the operation three weeks ago and it was alarmingly simple - very quick with no pain during or after and excellent vision within a couple of days (although it takes a few weeks to settle down completely). The consultant advised me not to start shooting again for a month, but in the meantime I have sighted in a few rifles and can confirm that there is sufficient adjustment in the focussing eyepiece of my scopes, and I can see well enough to shoot iron sights to at least 100 yards.
As I am naturally short sighted I wear a contact lens in my left eye (-1D for office work and distance for driving), and will eventually have a distance IOL fitted when that cataract starts annoying me.
Of course, everyone is different and a few people have problems with this procedure but for me it's been brilliant. The only downside is I will have to tear a page out of the book of excuses when I start shooting again ...