Getting Aware About Cataract Symptoms

We have all heard about cataract is one of the common eye problems. This problem occurs with age as the proteins inside the lens of our eyes tend to clump together. This results in turning the lens cloudy. The various causes behind cataracts may be staying in the sun for too long without eye protection, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, hormone replacement therapy, smoking or taking steroid medications. The first symptom of cataract is that things start looking hazy, blurry or dim. This, however, increases with time.

There are three types of cataracts - posterior subcapsular cataract, nuclear cataract, and cortical cataract. Those with nuclear cataracts seem to have an improved vision for some time. Medical doctor this is called 'second light'. As the cataract advances with time, it becomes darker and you tend to see a brown or yellow tinge. At this stage, the night vision tends to be affected. This often leads to accidents. It has been found that treating cataracts at this stage reduces accidents to about 13%. One of the common symptoms of cataracts is sensitivity to light. Bright lights can be painful to many who have cataracts, especially with post subcapsular cataracts. This sensitivity is the very first symptom and early treatment can help prevent the cataract from maturing to an advanced stage.

Cataracts often result in the diffraction of the light that enters the eye. This diffraction results in causing a halo around the sources of light. The rings around a source of light may be seen to contain rings of various colors. This vision is something that you are not used to and so it is difficult to see things comfortably. This is one of the reasons why cataracts can make driving quite risky. A person having cataracts might feel the need to frequently go for stronger glasses. A strong pair of reading glasses might not be the ultimate solution. If such a feeling arises it would be wise to visit the medical doctor or rather an ophthalmologist.