Glare from headlights at night

[lorac0813]

It's been about 3 years since I had cataract surgery on both eyes. I had a lot of problems following the surgery, most of which have since resolved. The one distressing problem that remains to this day is difficulty driving at night. I'm pretty much blinded by any oncoming headlights and the glare from streetlights, etc. I've heard of night driving problems with the multifocal lenses but I had monofocal lenses put in and thought this glare problem would disappear with time. I'm only 55 and have many more years of working ahead of me, hence many more years of commuting. I wear prescription glasses at night, they improve my vision slightly but despite the anti-glare coating, I still get lots of glare. Is it possible I have posterior capsular opacification, which is causing this problem? I did see my optometrist a few months ago and he had a look at my eyes and said everything seemed fine.

[lorac0813]

Hi Dr. Oyakawa, is there something an ophthalmologist might see that my optometrist couldn't? I'm not sure of the difference between the two. Also, the mild pupil constricting drops you mentioned - are those the glaucoma drops I've heard others talk about? I know it starts with an "A" but I can't remember the name of the drops. Thanks.

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

See an ophthalmologist.  You could have PC haze.  Also, you could try a mild pupil constricting drop at night when driving.

Dr. O.