Cataracts are the leading cause of temporary blindness in the United States and the rest of the world. Often associated with older people, cataracts can also affect young people, especially if they have diabetes. 

Partial cataracts can develop into a completely clouded lens and lead to blindness. The only treatment available for cataracts is surgery, where the ophthalmologist replaces your damaged eye's lens with an intraocular lens. 

What Are the Different Types of Cataracts?

Most cataracts usually develop slowly over a long time, leaving you barely able to notice any changes in vision quality. Further on, they can interfere with your vision; you need to use brighter lights or glasses for better vision then. You can develop one of four types of cataracts:

Nuclear Cataracts

These cataracts affect the center of the lens and may cause better reading vision or a rise in myopia. But as the condition develops, your vision becomes more clouded as the lens turns a denser yellow. With further progression, the eye's lens can turn brown, making distinguishing colors harder. 

Cortical Cataracts

These cataracts impact the edges of the lens, initially appearing as white streaks at the end of the edge of the lens. The white streaks become more opaque and spread toward the center of the lens as the condition progresses. 

Posterior Subcapsular Cataracts

These cataracts usually begin developing from the back of the lens as a small opaque patch smack in the middle of the light path. It usually starts by impacting your reading ability, causing halos and glare around bright lights, and lowering vision in bright lights. This type of cataract usually develops much faster than other forms of the condition. 

Congenital Cataracts

On rare occasions, a child is born with cataracts. This is usually due to an intrauterine infection, genetics, or trauma at birth. Galactosemia, myotonic dystrophy, and other conditions can also cause this condition in children at birth. 

What Are the Symptoms of Cataracts?

• Dim, blurry, or cloudy vision

• High sensitivity to glare and light

• Seeing halos usually around bright lights

• Poor vision quality at night

• Frequent prescription changes for your glasses or contact lenses

• Double vision in one eye

• Requiring brighter lights to see better

• Yellowing or fading of colors

What Causes Cataracts?

Cataracts often result from aging, but they may also occur due to disease or injury that impacts the structure of the eye's natural lens. The fibers and proteins that make up the interior of the lens start to break down and begin to cause the clouding of the lens. 

As the fibers and proteins break down, they start to collect on the lens's surface, causing blurry and clouded vision common in cataracts. Some conditions can hasten this process and make cataracts cause vision loss much faster. 

What Are the Risk Factors for Cataracts?

Some things raise the risk of you developing cataracts, such as:

• Diabetes

• Smoking

• Previous eye surgery

• Aging

• Extended use of medications like corticosteroids

• Obesity

• Prolonged exposure to sunlight

• High blood pressure

• Excessive alcohol consumption

• Previous eye inflammation or injury

For more on cataracts, call Coastal Vision at our offices in Chino, Irvine, Long Beach, or Orange, California. Call (888) 501-4496 to schedule a visit.