What Does it Mean to See Halos?
Ever spot bright rings or fuzzy circles around headlights or street lamps at night? Seeing halos might seem harmless or even a little pretty, but it can sometimes point to changes in your eyes that shouldn’t be ignored. If you’re seeing halos, contact your Coldwater, MS optometrist at Coldwater Vision Center right away.
A Few Normal Reasons for Halos
In many cases, halos are just how light reacts with your eyes under certain conditions. If your contact lenses are dirty or your glasses are smudged, light can scatter and cause those glowing rings. Dry eyes might also lead to this effect. Often, once you blink a few times or clean your lenses, the halos fade away.
Another common reason is fatigue. After a long day staring at screens or driving at night, your eyes might get a little worn out, making lights seem to glow or streak more than usual.
When Halos Could Mean Something More
But halos aren’t always harmless. Cataracts — which make the lens inside your eye cloudy — often cause people to notice more glare and halos, especially around bright lights. Cataracts tend to develop slowly, so people sometimes adjust without realizing their vision is changing.
Halos can also be linked to glaucoma. With this condition, increased pressure inside the eye can harm the optic nerve. Seeing rainbow-like halos, particularly paired with headaches or eye pain, might be a sign that your eye pressure is too high, or that you have the beginnings of macular degeneration in Coldwater, MS.
Even recent eye surgery, like LASIK, can cause temporary halos while your eyes heal. Usually this goes away over time, but it’s still worth mentioning to your eye doctor at Coldwater Vision Center so we can monitor your recovery.
Seeing halos once in a while probably isn’t a big deal. But if they become a daily thing, or if they show up with blurred vision, pain, or sudden changes in how well you see, don’t wait. Schedule an exam. Your eye doctor can figure out what’s causing the problem and help keep your vision as clear as possible for years to come. Contact us today to schedule an eye exam so we can figure out what’s going on.
