What are the symptoms of cataracts?
Depending on the degree of cloudiness and where in the lens the cloudiness occurs, a cataract can cause visual symptoms ranging from a slight blur to almost total blindness. Cataracts often take a number of years to develop and usually do not cause problems in their earliest stages. Sometimes glasses can help reduce this blurred vision. However, as the cataract progresses, blurring of the image becomes more severe so that even changing glasses will not help. Although cataracts usually affect both eyes, they seldom progress at the same rate and their progression is very unpredictable. A cataract may take years to develop. At other times, marked haziness can occur within a few months.
The symptoms of a cataract all revolve around diminished vision; blurred vision, ghost images, the impression of a “film over the eyes”; problems with light, such as finding lights not bright enough for the eyes”; problems with light, such as finding lights not bright enough for reading or near work, or being “dazzled” by intense light; and the need for frequent changes of eyeglasses prescriptions, which may not improve vision.
