Host: What are the symptoms of cataracts?

Dr. Laura D. Cook: So the most common complaints or symptoms are things that the patients are concerned about when they come in to see the physician, are a decrease in vision or trouble with glare. When we see decrease in vision, what I really mean is that their best corrected visual acuity isn't satisfactory. So that even with a spectacle or a glasses correction, the patient isn't corrected to a level that they can function due to things that they would like yo do. The second symptom which can be debilitating is also glare. Glare symptoms from headlights at night causing decrease in visual acuity or difficulty seeing or even from the sunlight and those things can really be devastating to a patient. The best way to be evaluated for cataracts is to see an ophthalmologist who can do a thorough eye exam looking for other ocular problems as well because there are other ocular conditions that can cause symptoms similar to cataracts that need to be treated.