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Cataract

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Lens opacity

Symptoms:

• Cloudy, fuzzy, foggy, or filmy vision
• Loss of color intensity
• Frequent changes in eyeglass prescription
• The glare from bright lights causes vision problems at night, especially while driving
• Sensitivity to glare from lamps or the sun
• Halos around lights
• Double vision in one eye
• Decreased contrast sensitivity (the ability to see shades, or shapes against a background)

Signs and tests:

• Standard ophthalmic exam , including slit lamp examination
• Ultrasonography of the eye in preparation for cataract surgery

Other tests that may be done (rarely) include:

• Glare test
• Contrast sensitivity test
• Potential vision test
• Specular microscopy of the cornea in preparation for cataract surgery

• Review Date: 8/8/2006
• Reviewed By: Paul B. Griggs, MD, Department of Ophthalmology, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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