Over a long period of time, cataracts can cause blindness, often associated with aging, but can sometimes develop in younger people.
A cataract is a painless, progressive clouding of the eye’s natural inner lens that blocks light and makes it difficult to see clearly.
Over a long period of time, cataracts can cause blindness. It is often associated with aging, but can sometimes develop in younger people.
In a normal eye, light enters and passes through the lens. The lens focuses that light into a sharp image on the retina, which transmits messages via the optic nerve to the brain. If the lens is clouded by a cataract, the image you will see will be blurry.
Signs that you may have cataracts
Other eye conditions, such as myopia, also cause blurred vision, but cataracts produce some characteristic signs and symptoms.
1. Symptom of blurred vision
The blurred vision at any distance is the most common symptom of cataracts. Your vision may appear cloudy and blurry. Over time, as the cataract gets worse, less light reaches the retina. People with cataracts may have Particular difficulty seeing and driving at night.
2. Glare is a symptom of cataracts
Another early symptom of cataracts is glare or light sensitivity. You may have trouble seeing in bright sunlight.
Interior lights that didn’t bother you before may now seem too irritating. Driving at night can become a problem due to glare from street lights and oncoming headlights.
3. Cataract and double vision in one eye
Sometimes the cataracts can cause double vision, known as diplopia, when looking out of one eye. This is different from double vision, which comes from your eyes not being aligned correctly, which would give you double vision when you look with both eyes together. With cataracts, the images can appear double, even with only one eye open.
4. A cataract symptom is also a color change
Cataracts can also affect your color vision, making some shades appear washed out.
Your vision may gradually take on a brownish or yellowish tint. You may not notice this color change at first. But over time, it can become more difficult to tell the difference between blue and purple.
5. Cataract and “second sight”
Sometimes cataracts can temporarily improve a person’s ability to see up close because it acts like a stronger lens. This phenomenon is called “second sight,” because people who once needed reading glasses find they no longer need them.
6. Frequent change of diopters
Frequent changes in the diopter of glasses or contact lenses can be a sign of cataracts.
This is because cataracts are usually progressivewhich means they get worse over time, causing vision to deteriorate faster and faster.
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