What Are Cataracts and Their Symptoms?

What Are Cataracts and Their Symptoms?

Good health involves every part of the body and that includes the eyes. There are many things that can affect vision and your eyes. Nearsightedness and farsightedness are common and easily corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Macular degeneration and other more serious eye ailments require more involved treatments and possibly surgery.visit here

Cataracts are a common eye problem that causes about 33% of visual impairment in people across the globe. They are treatable and if not addressed can lead to serious problems such as falls, depression, and blindness. In fact, cataracts cause about half of all blindness cases. Like many health problems, catching them early is the key to successful treatment. Knowing the symptoms along with regular eye exams is the best way to do that.

What Is a Cataract?

A cataract is a cloudy area on the lens of the eye. The lens sits behind the iris and is responsible for focusing what you see just like the lens on a camera. Lenses tend to lose their transparency, as well as become thicker and less flexible as you age. There are other medical conditions that can also affect the lens. The fibers and proteins within them can start to break down. They may clump together causing cloudy spots on the lens. Over time, the spots can become so dense that they scatter the light coming through the lens and cause your vision to become blurred. For more information on this subject visit bestcataractsurgeons.com’s cataract symptoms page.

What Are the Types of Cataracts?

There is more than one type of cataract. They each occur on different parts of the lens and cause different vision problems.

Cortical Cataracts – Cortical cataracts occur on the outside edges of the lens. At the start, they are wedge-shaped streaks that are whitish in color. As these cataracts grow, the wedges expand to the center of the lens and interfere with light passing through.
Nuclear Cataracts – Nuclear cataracts are right in the center of the lens and turn yellow and then brown over time. In the beginning, they usually cause nearsightedness and may actually temporarily improve reading vision. Nuclear cataracts will continue to progress and eventually make your vision cloudy.
Posterior Subcapsular Cataracts – Posterior subcapsular cataracts are located at the back of the lens and start out small. This cataract is an opaque area that sits right in the path of the light. This type of cataract tends to grow quickly and makes you see halos around lights at night. It often interferes with reading vision and can make it harder to see in bright light.
Congenital Cataracts – Congenital cataracts are ones you are born with or develop in early childhood. They can be caused by trauma or infection and may also be genetic. Sometimes they have no effect on vision, but if they do, a doctor will remove them.

Any of the types of cataracts can interfere with your vision and cause serious problems if not treated.

What Are Signs That You May Have Cataracts?

Although cataracts have similar symptoms to other eye problems, there are signs that may indicate you have or are developing cataracts. Regular eye checkups with an ophthalmologist are always advised and eye doctors do look for cataracts. If you experience any of these symptoms, you should schedule an eye exam.

Blurry vision – Things seem out of focus or you have blind spots in your vision or it seems like your glasses are always dirty.
Colors are not as bright – Colors may look washed out or less vibrant than they should. You may also see things tinged with yellow.
Vision is Hazy – It may seem like you are looking through smoke or dust even when the air is clear.
Sensitivity to light – You may find that turning on a light or looking at the screen of a smart device when it comes on bothers your eyes. You may have to squint harder in bright sunlight.
Seeing glare – You may see halos around light sources or excess glare coming off them.

Cataracts are common and can be treated easily with surgery. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, see an eye doctor for an exam. Letting cataracts go untreated can lead to serious eye problems including blindness.