7 Common Signs of Cataracts: Symptoms, Causes, and When to See an Eye Doctor

What Are the First Signs of Cataracts?

The first signs of cataracts often include cloudy or blurry vision, trouble seeing at night, glare from headlights or lamps, halos around lights, faded colors, double vision in one eye, and frequent changes to your glasses or contact lens prescription. Cataracts usually develop slowly, so symptoms may be mild at first and become more noticeable over time.

What Causes Cataracts?

The most common cause of a cataract developing is due to aging. After reaching the age of 40, the proteins in the eye start to group together. This creates a cloudy cataractous lens that can cause many vision problems, such as blurry vision or vision loss.

Cataracts can develop in both of your eyes. In this case, it’s common to see the cataracts develop at different rates. As the lens becomes cloudier, less light can pass clearly through to the retina. This can make your vision look foggy, dim, yellowed, or out of focus. Because cataracts often develop gradually, you may not notice the changes right away. Many people first notice symptoms during activities that require sharper vision, such as reading, driving at night, recognizing faces, or seeing street signs clearly.

Factors That Increase Your Chance of Developing Cataracts

Factors that can increase your risk of cataract development include:

• Past eye surgeries

• Diabetes

• Using steroids, a drug used for many health problems such as arthritis

• Taking phenothiazine drugs, which are used for conditions like bipolar disorder

• Ultraviolet exposure, or spending time in the sun without wearing sunglasses

It is possible for cataracts to develop in both of your eyes. However, the cataracts may develop at different rates. Other factors may also increase your chance of developing cataracts, including smoking, excessive alcohol use, eye injuries, family history, and certain medical conditions. Wearing UV-blocking sunglasses, managing health conditions like diabetes, and scheduling routine eye exams can help support your long-term eye health.

Common Cataract Signs and Symptoms

Cataract symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people notice only mild blurriness at first, while others may struggle with glare, night driving, reading, or changes in color perception. The symptoms below are some of the most common reasons people schedule an eye exam for cataract evaluation.

1. Blurry Vision

Blurry vision from a cataract will progress over time, causing you to feel like you’re looking through a foggy car window. This can impact your everyday life, especially while driving or reading.

This blurriness may not improve with blinking, rubbing your eyes, or cleaning your glasses. You may feel like your vision is cloudy, hazy, or less sharp than it used to be. If blurry vision continues or gets worse, an eye doctor can check whether cataracts, dry eye, a prescription change, or another eye condition may be the cause.

2. Poor Visibility in Low Light

Have you bought some brighter lamps recently? Read the restaurant menu with your phone’s flashlight? As cataracts develop, you may find yourself needing a brighter environment for everyday tasks. As a result, your ability to see at night is also affected by the cataracts.

Trouble seeing in dim lighting can make everyday activities more difficult, especially reading in the evening, walking in low-light areas, or driving after sunset. Many people with cataracts notice that night driving becomes harder before they realize their daytime vision has changed.

3. Sensitivity to Light

Although you may need more light to see, it’s possible you’ll also experience sensitivity to light. People with cataracts may notice that lights can cause a debilitating glare. This is especially dangerous when driving at night. Bright sunlight, lamps, headlights, and oncoming traffic may feel uncomfortable or overwhelming. If glare is making it difficult to drive safely or perform daily tasks, it’s a good time to schedule an eye exam.

4. Changes To Your Prescription Lens

If you've had to make one or more changes to your lens prescription recently, this may be due to developing cataracts. Cataracts can change the way light enters your eye, which may make your current glasses or contact lenses feel less effective. If you need prescription updates more often than usual, or your new prescription does not seem to improve your vision for long, cataracts may be one possible reason.

5. Light Glares or Halos

Do headlights bother you when you drive at night or on cloudy days? Cataracts can cause halos or glares to appear around bright lights. Halos may look like rings or circles around headlights, streetlights, lamps, or other bright objects. This symptom can be especially noticeable at night and may make driving more difficult. Glare and halos can also be related to other eye conditions, so it’s important to have your eyes evaluated rather than assuming cataracts are the cause.

6. Dull Colors

Instead of seeing bright colors as they normally are, cataracts can make them appear dull or yellow. You may notice that whites look yellowed, colors seem less vibrant, or it becomes harder to tell the difference between similar shades. This change can happen gradually, so some people do not realize how much their color vision has changed until after they receive treatment.

7. Double Vision

Cataracts can sometimes cause you to see double images, making it difficult to perform your everyday activities. Double vision from cataracts may occur in one eye and can look like a ghost image or shadow around an object. However, sudden double vision can also be a sign of other medical or eye-related concerns. If double vision appears suddenly, happens with pain or headache, or affects your ability to function, seek medical attention right away.

Early vs. Advanced Cataract Symptoms

Cataracts usually develop slowly, which means early symptoms may be easy to overlook. At first, you may only need more light to read, notice mild glare while driving, or feel like your glasses are not working as well as they used to.

As cataracts progress, symptoms may become more disruptive. Vision may appear cloudy or dim, night driving may feel unsafe, colors may look faded, and everyday tasks like reading, watching television, or recognizing faces may become more difficult.

An eye exam is the best way to understand how advanced your cataracts are and whether your symptoms are being caused by cataracts or another eye condition.

When to See an Eye Doctor for Cataracts

Any time you experience cataract signs and symptoms, you should set an appointment with an eye doctor.

Sometimes, cataracts do not require any immediate treatment. Your eye doctor may want you to return for follow-up appointments and monitoring. They may also recommend an update to your vision prescription. Other times, your eye doctor may recommend cataract surgery to remove the cloudy lens and replace it with an artificial lens to improve your vision.

It is also possible that your ocular symptoms may be from something other than cataracts. Working with a trusted eye doctor is the best way to confirm whether or not you have cataracts.

You should schedule an eye exam if your vision feels cloudy, dim, blurry, or less sharp than usual. You should also make an appointment if glare, halos, night driving problems, or frequent prescription changes are affecting your daily activities.

Seek care right away if you experience sudden vision loss, sudden double vision, flashes of light, severe eye pain, or a sudden headache. These symptoms are not typical of slow-developing cataracts and may signal another eye or medical concern.