Cataracts symptoms affect people of all ages, but there is an increased occurrence of this eye disorder among the elders. In the UK, one third of the 65 years old and above population has developed cataracts in one or both eyes. Cataract is a condition in which there is a painless progressive opacity or clouding in the lens of the eyes. It may take a long time for the cataract to spread all over the lens, but when such happens, it renders the person complete blindness in the eye affected.

Basically, the cause of cataracts and cataracts symptoms is the changes in the proteins in the lens of the eye causing the cloudiness. However, risk factors for developing cataracts include diabetes, eye injury, and direct eye exposure to ultraviolet light coming from the sun, long term medication use like steroids, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, poor nutrition, and dehydration.

Diagnosis of cataracts is made through visual acuity tests, tonometry, pupil dilation exams, and physical examination of the practicing ophthalmologist.

The most suggestive symptom among any other cataracts symptoms is seeing halos around the light. As the disease advances, cataracts symptoms are more felt by the patient suffering from it. Other cataracts symptoms include cloudy or filmy vision, presence of spots in the visual field, double vision in one or both eyes, faded colors in the vision, sensitivity to light, frequent changes in eyeglass prescription, and glare worse felt at night.

The best and only option to cure cataracts and its corresponding cataracts symptoms is cataract surgery. Removal of the clouded lens is the main goal of cataract surgery for the patient's improved vision and better way of life. The lens is removed and is replaced by an artificial lens, with this method, the patient achieves the best quality of vision he can have. The doctor suggests cataract surgery after thorough examination of the patient and his side of his cataracts symptoms. The operation usually takes about an hour and is done on an out patient basis. Before the surgery, local anesthesia is applied into the affected eye.

Cataract surgery can either be extracapsular or intracapsular. Extracapsular cataract surgery involves the removal of the clouded lens while leaving the capsule in place. During this surgery, the surgeon will make a small incision in the eye guided by an operating microscope. He will then remove the cloudy lens using an ultrasound-driven device that breaks and suctions the cataracts out of the affected eye. On the other hand, intracapsular surgery treats cataracts symptoms by removing the entire lens together with the capsule. Compared to extracapsular surgery, the intracapsular method is more dangerous as there are more risk related to it like retinal swelling and retinal detachment.

Death or disability due to cataract surgery is very uncommon. It is indeed a safe procedure rendering a patient free of cataracts symptoms. The aged and any other individual affected by cataracts have very promising chances to live their lives and vision to the fullest because blindness and cataracts symptoms are very manageable with surgery.