What are Cataracts?
Cataracts are a normal occurrence in an aging eye: your transparent eye lens begins to cloud over with the gradual build-up of naturally-occurring proteins in the eye. Instead of allowing light to enter properly, the cloudy lens creates a foggy appearance to everything you see.
This process does not happen overnight. It is typically a slow development that makes it increasingly difficult to see things clearly and perform daily tasks.
Symptoms of Cataracts
While cataracts are typically associated with aging, they can also occur due to disease, injury, birth defect or certain medications. Symptoms can include:
- Hazy/blurry/cloudy vision
- Glare and starbursts with night driving
- Dull appearance of colors
- Vision takes on a yellowish/brownish tint
- Eye sensitivity in bright light
Types of Cataracts
You can have a cataract in one or both eyes. The position of your cataract will affect what type of vision disturbance you have.
- Nuclear cataract: occurs in the center of the lens, often creating temporary near vision improvement
- Cortical cataract: occurs around the edges of the lens, often resulting in spoke-like opacities that move to the center of the lens
- Subcapsular cataract: occurs at the back of the lens, often masking symptoms until the later stages
