Cataract in Adults
What Are the Symptoms of Cataracts

Here are some signs of cataract:

• Cloudy, fuzzy, foggy, or filmy vision.
• Changes in the way you see colors.
• Problems driving at night because headlights seem too bright.
• Problems with glare from lamps or the sun.
• Frequent changes in your eyeglass prescription.
• Double vision.
• Better near vision for awhile only in farsighted people.

These symptoms also can be signs of other eye problems.

See your eye doctor to find out what you have and how it can be treated.

A regular eye exam is all that is needed to find a cataract. Your eye doctor will ask you to read a letter chart to see how sharp your sight is. You probably will get eye drops to enlarge your pupils (the round black centers of your eyes). This helps the doctor to see the inside of your eyes. The doctor will use a bright light to see whether your lenses are clear and to check for other problems in the back of your eyes.

Other eye tests may also be used occasionally to show how poorly you see with cataract or how well you might see after surgery:

• Glare test.
• Contrast sensitivity test.
• Potential vision test.
• Specular photographic microscopy.

Only a few people need these tests.