Symptoms
Over a course of months or years, patients experience a gradual visual decline and start to have difficulties with every day tasks. Night driving, for example, is usually affected early therefore patients very frequently experience glare and halos from bright lights. Blurred vision and faded colors are very common symptoms as well. In addition patients may have trouble recognizing faces, reading road signs, watching television and reading subtitles.
Symptoms do not come all at once. The lens of the eye gradually becomes cloudy but patients may not notice that there is a problem initially. However as most cataracts grow slowly, they subsequently reach a stage that all symptoms below become evident and therefore they start to have an effect on everyday life and tasks.
In summary the main symptoms of cataracts include:
- Gradual worsening of vision; becoming cloudy or blurred
- Difficulties with vision at low lighting conditions
- Glare or halos especially with bright lights
- Colours appearing dim
- Double vision coming from one eye
- Frequent prescription changing with spectacles or contact lenses – eyes usually becoming short sighted.
