Hand Holding and Stress Balls During Cataract Eye Surgery

During cataract surgery, patients are awake but may experience pain and anxiety because the eye is numbed with topical anesthesia (eye drops) but not fully asleep. This trial is testing whether two simple, non-drug approaches — having someone hold your hand or squeezing a stress ball — can help reduce pain and anxiety during surgery and improve your overall comfort and cooperation with the surgeon.

Cataract surgery is the only effective treatment for cataracts, but anxiety and pain during the procedure can cause patients to move or have dangerous changes in heart rate and blood pressure. While medications can help, researchers want to know if simple, safe, non-drug methods like hand-holding and stress balls could be effective and easy to use in any hospital setting.