Cataracts occur when the natural lens in your eye becomes cloudy, blocking light from passing through your eye and blurring your vision. Most cataracts develop when aging or injury changes the tissue that makes up the eye's lens, and may make it difficult for you to participate in daily activities, such as reading, working, or driving.

Healthy Eye

Eye with cataract

Symptoms Include:

• Clouded, blurred or dim vision

• Increasing difficulty with vision at night

• Sensitivity to light and glare

• Need for brighter light for reading and other activities

• Seeing "halos" around lights

• Frequent changes in eyeglass or contact lens prescription

• Fading or yellowing of colors

• Double vision in a single eye 

The only way to remove cataracts and restore clear vision is through surgery. Modern cataract surgery, which is one of the safest and most effective procedures, replaces your natural cataract-affected lens with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens (IOL).