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What Is a Cataract? Symptoms, Causes & When to Have Surgery
A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens inside your eye. It usually develops slowly with age and makes vision blurry, dim, or glary. This guide from Azure Eye Center explains what a cataract is, the symptoms to watch for, what causes it, and how to tell when it is time to talk with an eye surgeon.
Cataracts at a glance
- ✓A cloudy lens inside the eye, not a film on its surface
- ✓Most often related to aging, and usually slow to develop
- ✓Common signs: blur, night glare, faded colors
- ✓Diagnosed with a dilated eye exam
- ✓No drops reverse a cataract; surgery is the treatment
The short answer
What is a cataract?
A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens, the clear part behind the iris that focuses light. As proteins in the lens break down, it becomes hazy, yellowed, or stiff, so less light reaches the retina. Vision gets blurry, dim, or glary. Cataracts are most often related to aging and usually progress slowly.
Think of looking through a window that slowly fogs up. Early on, brighter light or new glasses may help. Over time, the haze can make driving, reading, and recognizing faces harder.
Symptoms
What are the symptoms of a cataract?
The most common symptoms are cloudy or blurry vision and glare from lights at night. Because cataracts develop slowly, many people adjust without noticing how much their vision has changed.
- ✓Cloudy or blurry vision. Things look hazy, as if through a dirty windshield.
- ✓Glare and halos at night. Headlights and streetlights look brighter, with rings or starbursts around them.
- ✓Faded or yellowed colors. Whites look dingy and colors seem less vivid.
- ✓Frequent prescription changes. New glasses help for a while, then vision slips again.
- ✓Double vision in one eye. You see a ghost image even with the other eye closed.
- ✓Needing more light. Reading or close work takes a brighter lamp than it used to.
These symptoms can also come from other eye conditions, so an exam is the only way to know the cause.
Types
What are the types of cataracts?
Cataracts are named for the part of the lens that clouds. The type affects which symptoms you notice first.
Nuclear
Forms in the center of the lens and slowly turns it yellow or brown. It often blurs distance vision first and can briefly make reading up close easier before vision worsens.
Cortical
Starts as wedge-shaped streaks at the outer edge of the lens that work toward the center. Glare and trouble with contrast are common early complaints.
Posterior subcapsular
Forms at the back of the lens, in the path of light. It often causes glare and trouble reading in bright light, and it is more common with diabetes or steroid use.
Causes
What causes cataracts?
Most cataracts are caused by normal aging, as proteins in the lens slowly break down and clump together. Several factors can make cataracts develop earlier or faster:
- ✓Age. The biggest risk factor. Changes often begin in middle age and become more noticeable later.
- ✓Diabetes. Higher blood sugar over time is linked to earlier cataracts.
- ✓Smoking. Smoking raises the risk of cataracts.
- ✓UV exposure. Years of sunlight without eye protection may contribute.
- ✓Steroid medications. Long-term use of steroids, including some eye drops, is linked to cataracts.
- ✓Prior eye surgery or injury. Trauma or earlier eye surgery can lead to a cataract in that eye.
Timing
When is it time to have cataract surgery?
It is time to consider surgery when your cataract makes daily tasks or driving harder and new glasses no longer help. You do not need to wait for a cataract to become "ripe."
Ask yourself a few plain questions. Do you avoid driving at night? Has reading become a chore? Do you squint at screens or struggle to see faces across a room? If you answer yes to several, it is worth an exam. Our cataract self-test can help you sort through your symptoms before you come in.
If your cataract is mild and your vision still meets your needs, Dr. Truong may suggest monitoring it with regular exams. The decision to have surgery is yours, made with clear information about your eyes.
Diagnosis
How are cataracts diagnosed at Azure Eye Center?
Cataracts are diagnosed with a dilated eye exam. Drops widen your pupils so the doctor can see the whole lens and check the rest of your eye.
Dr. Samantha Reynolds, a therapeutic optometrist, and Dr. Truong, a board-certified ophthalmologist and fellowship-trained cornea surgeon, examine your eyes. They look at how dense the cataract is, which type it is, and whether other conditions, such as glaucoma or corneal disease, are also affecting your vision. Exams are available at our Fort Worth (Alliance) office and our Colleyville office.
Because dilation blurs your vision for a few hours, bring sunglasses and consider having someone drive you.
Prevention
Can cataracts be prevented or reversed?
No eye drop, supplement, or exercise can reverse a cataract once it forms. Surgery is the only treatment that removes one.
You may be able to slow cataracts by wearing UV-blocking sunglasses outdoors, not smoking, and keeping diabetes well controlled. Regular eye exams also help catch changes early, so you can plan treatment on your own timeline.
Ready to talk about treatment?
Learn about cataract surgery in Fort Worth
If your cataract is getting in the way of daily life, our main guide covers how surgery is done, lens implant choices, cost and Medicare coverage, and recovery. Read about cataract surgery in Fort Worth with Dr. Truong in our office-based surgery suite, or go straight to lens implant options and cost and Medicare coverage.
Explore cataract surgeryCan eye drops dissolve a cataract?
No. No eye drop has been shown to dissolve or reverse a cataract, despite products marketed online. Once the lens is cloudy, surgery to replace it with a clear lens implant is the only treatment. If you are seeing changes in your vision, a dilated exam at Azure Eye Center in Fort Worth or Colleyville can confirm whether a cataract is the cause.
At what age do cataracts usually develop?
Age-related lens changes often begin in middle age, but most people do not notice symptoms until later in life. Cataracts can appear earlier with diabetes, long-term steroid use, smoking, or a past eye injury or surgery. Regular eye exams help track changes over time, so you know when a cataract starts to matter for your vision.
How fast do cataracts get worse?
Most age-related cataracts progress slowly, often over years. Some types, such as posterior subcapsular cataracts, can progress faster and affect vision sooner. The pace differs from person to person and even between your two eyes. Your eye doctor can compare exams over time and tell you how quickly your cataract seems to be changing.
Does a cataract have to be "ripe" before surgery?
No. Waiting for a cataract to "ripen" is outdated advice. Surgery is considered when the cataract affects your daily life, such as driving, reading, or work, and glasses no longer help enough. Very dense cataracts can make surgery more involved, so there is no benefit to waiting until vision is badly impaired.
Can new glasses fix blurry vision from a cataract?
Early on, an updated prescription can sharpen vision for a while. Glasses cannot clear the cloudiness itself, though, so as the cataract progresses, blur, glare, and faded colors return. When prescription changes stop helping, it is usually time to discuss cataract surgery with an eye surgeon such as Dr. Truong in Fort Worth.
Is it safe to drive with cataracts?
Early cataracts may not affect driving, but glare and reduced contrast can make night driving risky as they progress. If oncoming headlights bother you or you have trouble reading signs, get an eye exam. Your doctor can check whether your vision still meets the standard for driving and whether treatment would help.
Can a cataract come back after surgery?
No. The cloudy lens is removed during surgery and cannot grow back. Some people later develop haze on the membrane behind the lens implant, called a "secondary cataract" or posterior capsule opacification. It can blur vision again and is usually treated with a quick in-office laser procedure. Let your eye doctor know if your vision changes after surgery.
Related pages
Notice cataract symptoms? Schedule an eye exam.
A dilated exam at our Fort Worth (Alliance) or Colleyville office will show whether a cataract is affecting your vision and what your options are.
This page is for general education and is not medical advice. Symptoms can have many causes; only an in-person eye exam can diagnose a cataract or other eye condition.