Cataract symptoms and course

Common symptoms of cataracts include:

• Hazy vision; decrease in visual acuity
• Double or blurred vision
• Difficulty performing normal activities due to vision problems
• Sensitivity to light and glare
• Impaired vision at night, often causing difficulty while driving at night
• Less vivid colour perception (colours look less bright)
• Need for frequent changes in eye-glass prescriptions
• Unexpected improvement in near vision
• A milky white, opaque or yellowish appearance to the normally transparent lens of the eye (advanced case)

A cataract has little effect on vision at first. Often cataracts develop so slowly that you are unaware of them. If the cataract is on the outer edge of the lens, no change in vision may be noticed. Cloudiness near the centre of the lens usually interferes with sight.

Small cataracts that do not affect vision may not require treatment. However, cataracts progress and become larger or denser, progressively clouding the lens and causing significant vision changes. Severe cataracts can interfere with an independent lifestyle by preventing older adults from performing normal activities. Eventually the entire lens becomes white and will cause blindness, which is usually reversible with an operation. Glaucoma or inflammation can be a complication of advanced cataracts.