Cataracts—protein buildups in the eyes due to age, genetics, injuries, steroid medication use, or health issues such as diabetes—eventually impair vision without treatment. Symptoms manifest over time, making eye annual eye exams with your local optometrist imperative for early detection. Here are the most common cataract warning signs to help you stay on top of your eye health.

Cataract Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore

1. Blurry or Cloudy Vision

As proteins build up in the eyes, vision becomes increasingly blurry, cloudy, or dim. While vision cloudiness can have other explanations, it will worsen if cataracts are to blame. The eye lenses become blurrier, which people with cataracts have likened to impressionist painting-like sight.

2. Light & Glare Sensitivities

Exposure to sunlight, headlights, and even interior lights can cause painful sensitivity issues when you have cataracts. Lights may also appear to have halos around them as cataracts interfere with light entering the eyes. Subcapsular cataracts, or those affecting the backs of the lenses, are especially susceptible to light and glare sensitivities because they impede light transmission.

3. Nighttime Driving Issues

Driving at night gets complicated as cataracts develop because of headlight halos and glare sensitivities. Oncoming headlights can cause the eyes to water and feel painful, while reading lit road signs becomes challenging. Cataracts can also create double vision in one eye that makes driving at any time of day dangerous.

4. Frequent Prescription Changes

Changing your glasses or contacts prescription often can indicate cataracts. Patients may experience issues reading fine print because eye proteins lump together, causing problems for the eyes’ refractive mirrors. Instead of buying new reading glasses at a nearby retailer or drugstore on repeat, schedule an eye exam.

5. Faded Colors

As proteins cloud the eyes, they fade colors and cause tone differentiation issues. The lenses can even turn a yellow or brown hue, blocking ultraviolet and blue light. Patients who undergo cataract surgery often remark on restored color clarity and vibrancy.

Schedule regular eye exams with Griebenow Eyecare in New London, WI, and discuss other cataract prevention tips, such as quitting smoking, with their optometrists. The locally owned vision center has served residents of Outagamie and Waupaca counties since 1979, offering eye exams, eyeglasses, contact lenses, and eye disease treatments, among other services. Call (800) 427-9585 today to make an appointment, or visit the online patient center for more information. Get the latest vision health tips on Facebook.