{"id":1932,"date":"2026-10-20T08:54:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laseristanbulclinic.com\/eye-health\/conditions\/halos-around-lights\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T12:58:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T12:58:45","slug":"halos-around-lights","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/laseristanbulclinic.com\/en\/eye-health\/conditions\/halos-around-lights\/","title":{"rendered":"Halos Around Lights: Causes, Warning Signs and What Helps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
  1. Home<\/a><\/li>
  2. Knowledge centre<\/a><\/li>
  3. Eye conditions & symptoms A\u2013Z<\/a><\/li>
  4. Halos Around Lights: Causes, Warning Signs and What Helps<\/span><\/li><\/ol><\/div>\t\t\t

    Halos Around Lights: Causes, Warning Signs and What Helps<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \"Close-up<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    Halos around lights are glowing rings that appear around bright lights, most often at night. Common causes are cataracts, dry eye, an out-of-date glasses prescription, healing after laser eye surgery and multifocal or trifocal lens implants. Halos together with severe eye pain, a red eye, headache or nausea can be acute angle-closure glaucoma, an emergency. New halos should be checked by an eye specialist, such as the surgeons at Laser Istanbul Clinic.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

    \n\t\t

    What are halos around lights?<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t

    A halo is a ring or glow of light that surrounds a bright source, such as a street lamp, car headlights or a phone screen in a dark room. The NHS lists “glowing rings (halos) around lights” among the symptoms of cataracts, and it lists seeing “rainbow-coloured circles around bright lights” as a sign of sudden glaucoma. Halos are a symptom, not a disease: they tell you that light is being bent, scattered or blocked somewhere on its way to the retina.<\/p>\n

    Halos usually come with two close relatives. It helps to know the difference, because you will use these words when you describe your symptoms to a doctor:<\/p>

    Term<\/th>What you see<\/th>Typical situation<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    Halo<\/th>A ring or soft glow around a light<\/td>Night driving, street lamps, signs<\/td><\/tr>
    Glare<\/th>A dazzle that makes a light hard to look at<\/td>Oncoming headlights, low winter sun<\/td><\/tr>
    Starburst<\/th>Rays or spikes spreading out from a light<\/td>Headlights, candles, brake lights<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>

    All three are most noticeable in the dark, because your pupil is at its widest and more light reaches the edges of the cornea and lens, where small irregularities matter most.<\/p><\/div>\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

    \n\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t

    What causes halos around lights?<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

    Halos have many causes, from harmless to urgent. In most adults the cause sits in one of three places: the tear film on the surface, the cornea, or the lens inside the eye. The table below lists the main causes, with what else you may notice.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

    Cause<\/th>Where the problem is<\/th>What else you may notice<\/th>How urgent<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    Cataract<\/th>Lens clouds with age<\/td>Blurry vision, faded colours, trouble seeing at night, frequent glasses changes<\/td>See an optician or eye doctor soon<\/td><\/tr>
    Dry eye<\/th>Uneven tear film<\/td>Gritty, burning or watery eyes; vision that clears when you blink<\/td>Routine appointment<\/td><\/tr>
    Changing prescription<\/th>Light not focused exactly on the retina<\/td>Blur, eye strain, squinting<\/td>Eye test<\/td><\/tr>
    After laser eye surgery (LASIK, SMILE, PRK)<\/th>Healing cornea, dry eye, small optical imperfections<\/td>New symptoms in the first weeks<\/td>Tell your surgeon; usually settles over months<\/td><\/tr>
    Multifocal or trifocal lens implant<\/th>Rings built into the lens to give near and far focus<\/td>Halos around lights at night<\/td>Expected to some degree; review if troublesome<\/td><\/tr>
    Clouding behind a lens implant (posterior capsule opacification)<\/th>Membrane behind the implant<\/td>Blur and glare months or years after cataract surgery<\/td>Eye review; short laser treatment<\/td><\/tr>
    Keratoconus<\/th>Cone-shaped, distorted cornea<\/td>Distorted vision, light and glare sensitivity, frequent prescription changes<\/td>See a cornea specialist<\/td><\/tr>
    Acute angle-closure glaucoma<\/th>Sudden rise in eye pressure<\/td>Severe pain, red eye, headache, nausea<\/td>Emergency, same day<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    <\/svg><\/span>

    Is seeing halos around lights a sign of cataracts?<\/h3>

    Often, yes. The NHS lists halos, light sensitivity, blurred vision and difficulty seeing at night among the symptoms of cataracts, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) notes that people with cataracts can be bothered by vehicle headlights at night. Cataracts develop gradually, may affect each eye differently and become more common with age: according to the National Eye Institute (NEI), more than half of Americans aged 80 or older either have cataracts or have had surgery to remove them. The NHS notes that risk rises over 60 and with diabetes, smoking, long-term steroid use and eye injury. The AAO says cataracts can be removed only with surgery; in the early stages an updated glasses prescription may be enough.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

    <\/svg><\/span>

    Can dry eye cause halos?<\/h3>

    Yes. A healthy tear film is a smooth optical surface. When it breaks up, light scatters and rings or blur can appear, often changing from one blink to the next. A 2026 case series of people unhappy after multifocal and trifocal lens surgery lists dry eye among the main causes, and EyeWiki, the AAO’s clinical encyclopedia, names dry eye as a contributor to visual symptoms after LASIK. Treating the tear film is therefore the first step before anything more invasive is considered.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

    <\/svg><\/span>

    Why are halos worse at night?<\/h3>

    In dim light your pupil widens. Light then passes through the outer part of your cornea and lens, which is where scars, swelling, cloudiness and lens rings cause the most scatter. EyeWiki links halos after laser surgery to a large pupil in the dark relative to the treated zone of the cornea. This is why halos are often first noticed while driving after dark, and why a normal daytime eye test can miss them.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

    \n\t\t
    \"Eye<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t

    When are halos an emergency?<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

    Halos with severe eye pain, a red eye, headache, nausea or vomiting need urgent medical care the same day.<\/strong> These are the typical signs of acute angle-closure glaucoma, in which the eye’s fluid drainage angle closes and the pressure rises suddenly.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t