Cataract Symptoms: Early Signs, Causes & When to Treat
A cataract is a cloudy patch in the lens of the eye. The NHS lists the main symptoms as blurred or cloudy vision, trouble seeing at night, glare and halos around lights and faded colours. Cataracts usually develop gradually and are most common over 60. The treatment is a short day-case operation to replace the lens, but NHS waits have grown long. This guide covers the early signs, causes, how cataracts differ from glaucoma, and the NHS and private routes. It is general information, not medical advice.
Quick Answer
Sudden change in your sight? Read this first.
This page is general information, not medical advice, and only an optician or eye specialist can tell you what is affecting your vision. Cataracts usually come on gradually. The NHS says to call 999 or go to A&E if you suddenly get a painful red eye with blurred vision, halos around lights, headache or feeling sick, as this can be acute glaucoma. Get an urgent optician appointment or call NHS 111 for sudden new floaters or flashes, or a dark curtain or shadow moving across your vision.
The main cataract symptoms, as the NHS lists them: blurred vision; difficulty seeing at night; difficulty reading and watching TV; eyes that feel uncomfortable in, or sensitive to, light and glare; double vision in one eye; halos around lights; and colours that look faded, especially blue. Cataracts are not usually painful and tend to worsen slowly.
What to do: the NHS says to see an optician if you have symptoms. If a cataract is confirmed, you are referred to an eye specialist, and surgery is offered when the cataract affects daily life. The operation replaces the cloudy lens with an artificial one, usually under local anaesthetic, and you normally go home the same day. With NHS waits long in many areas, some people go private; our private cataract surgery guide covers prices per eye and lens choices.
On this page
Cataract Symptoms in Detail
The lens sits behind the coloured part of the eye and focuses light. A cataract makes it cloudy, a bit like looking through a steamed-up or dirty window. The NHS lists these symptoms:
| Symptom (NHS list) | What it can feel like day to day |
|---|---|
| Blurred vision | Things look misty or cloudy, and new glasses do not seem to fix it |
| Difficulty seeing at night | Driving in the dark feels harder; road signs are harder to read |
| Difficulty reading and watching TV | Needing brighter light to read; the picture looks less sharp |
| Sensitivity to light and glare | Sunlight, lamps or oncoming headlights feel dazzling |
| Double vision in one eye | Seeing two of something when looking with just the affected eye |
| Halos around lights | Glowing rings around street lights or headlights |
| Faded colours, especially blue | Colours look washed out or yellowish |
Cataracts can affect one eye or both, and one eye is often worse than the other. They are not usually painful and do not normally make the eye red. Pain or redness points to something else and is a reason to get checked promptly; see the box at the top.
Early Signs: What People Notice First
Because cataracts usually develop gradually over months or years, the early stage is easy to miss. Common first signs include:
- Night driving getting harder, especially glare and halos from oncoming headlights.
- Needing more light to read, or holding things closer to a lamp.
- Glasses prescriptions changing more often than they used to.
- Colours looking duller, which some people only notice after surgery on the first eye, when they compare the two.
Many early cataracts are first picked up by an optician at a routine eye test before the person has noticed much at all. In the early stages, stronger glasses and better lighting can help for a while; surgery is the only treatment that removes a cataract.
Causes and Risk Factors
Most cataracts are linked to ageing, as proteins in the lens gradually change. The NHS says your risk is higher if you:
- are aged 60 or over
- have had an eye injury or eye surgery, or have an eye condition such as uveitis or short-sightedness (myopia)
- have taken steroid medicines for a long time
- smoke, or have a family history of cataracts
- are female, or spend a lot of time in the sun without eye protection
- have a long-term condition such as type 2 diabetes, severe dermatitis or high blood pressure
Some babies are born with cataracts or develop them young (congenital or childhood cataracts). The NHS notes that surgery for children usually happens promptly to protect how their vision develops, which is a different situation from age-related cataracts in adults.
Cataract vs Glaucoma Symptoms
People often search for these together, and an optician checks for both in the same eye test. They are different conditions:
| Cataract | Glaucoma | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of the eye | The lens becomes cloudy | The optic nerve is damaged |
| Typical symptoms | Blurred vision, glare, halos, faded colours | Usually none at first, per the NHS |
| How it develops | Usually gradually | Usually slowly; acute glaucoma is sudden |
| Emergency signs | Not usually an emergency | Sudden severe eye pain, red eye, halos, headache, feeling sick: 999 or A&E |
| Treatment | Surgery to replace the lens | Usually eye drops, laser or surgery to lower eye pressure |
Halos around lights appear in both lists, which is one reason self-diagnosis does not work here. The NHS is clear that glaucoma often has no symptoms until it is advanced, so regular eye tests matter even when vision seems fine.
Getting Checked and Diagnosed
The NHS route starts with an optician, not a GP. An optician can examine the lens and, if a cataract is found, refer you to an eye specialist (an ophthalmologist) for further tests and a decision about surgery. Eye tests are free on the NHS for many people, including everyone aged 60 or over.
If you are thinking of going private, most private eye clinics can see you for a consultation without a long wait; some accept self-referral, others want an optician’s letter. Our private cataract surgery guide explains how that works.
When to Treat: Surgery, NHS and Private
The NHS explains that cataract surgery is not always needed straight away, but may be recommended when cataracts affect your daily life, such as driving, reading, work or hobbies. The operation:
- replaces the cloudy lens with a clear artificial one
- usually takes 20 to 45 minutes under local anaesthetic, so you are awake but should not feel pain
- is normally a day case, so you go home the same day
- involves eye drops for around 4 weeks afterwards, and no driving until your vision is back to normal
The NHS says recovery is quick and serious complications are rare. Surgery is usually done one eye at a time.
The waiting problem. Cataract surgery is one of the most common operations in England: the Health Foundation’s WIAH analysis of NHS England data puts it at about 438,000 operations a year in 2025, with around 650,000 people waiting and a median wait of 41 weeks. Waits vary a lot by area; see our NHS cataract waiting times guide. Many NHS cataract operations are now carried out in independent clinics on the NHS’s behalf, so going through the NHS does not always mean a hospital eye unit.
Going private. Self-paying for standard cataract surgery commonly costs around £2,000 to £3,500 per eye (market-typical, varying by clinic, region and lens). Premium lenses cost more. Full prices, lens options and what to ask are in our private cataract surgery cost guide, and wider options are in NHS waiting times: your private options.
Symptoms After Cataract Surgery
Some symptoms in the days after surgery are expected: the NHS says vision may be blurry for a few hours from the dilating drops, the eye may feel uncomfortable for a few days, and it can take several days for vision to improve.
Months or years later, vision can turn cloudy again. The NHS explains this is usually posterior capsule opacification (PCO), sometimes called a secondary cataract, where the capsule holding the new lens becomes cloudy. It is not the cataract coming back, and it can usually be treated; the NHS advice is to see an optician if it happens.
Sudden pain, redness, worsening vision, or new flashes, floaters or a shadow after eye surgery need urgent help: contact the eye unit that treated you, call NHS 111, or go to A&E.
Does Health Insurance Cover Cataracts?
Often, yes, and cataracts are one of the most common reasons people over 50 claim. Because surgery fixes the problem, insurers usually treat cataracts as an acute condition, so many policies cover the specialist consultation, the operation and a standard lens. The catches:
- It must be new. A cataract you had symptoms of, or had been told about, before joining is normally excluded as pre-existing, at least at first. Under a moratorium, that usually covers the five years before you joined. See pre-existing conditions and moratorium vs full medical underwriting.
- Lens upgrades. Premium lenses may cost extra even when the operation is covered.
- Optical cover is not surgery cover. An optical add-on pays towards glasses and contact lenses, not operations. Our optical cover guide explains the difference.
Laser eye surgery to correct short- or long-sightedness is a different procedure and is not normally covered; see laser eye surgery costs. For cover in later life, see health insurance over 50, over 60 and over 70, or weigh it up in is private health insurance worth it?
FAQs: Cataract Symptoms (2026)
What are the first signs of cataracts?
The NHS lists the symptoms of cataracts as blurred or cloudy vision, difficulty seeing at night, difficulty reading and watching television, eyes that feel uncomfortable in or sensitive to light and glare, double vision in one eye, glowing rings (halos) around lights, and colours that look faded, especially blue. Early on, many people first notice glare from headlights when driving at night, or that they need brighter light to read. Because cataracts usually develop gradually, the change can be easy to miss until an optician spots it at a routine eye test. This is general information, not medical advice: an optician is the right first step for any change in your vision.
What is the difference between cataract and glaucoma symptoms?
They affect different parts of the eye and tend to feel different. Cataracts cloud the lens, so the main symptoms are blurred or misty vision, glare and faded colours, usually developing gradually. The NHS says glaucoma usually has no symptoms at first and most people do not realise they have it, which is why regular eye tests matter; it damages the optic nerve and can slowly affect side vision. The exception is acute glaucoma, which comes on suddenly with severe eye pain, a red eye, halos, blurred vision, headache and sickness. The NHS treats that as an emergency: call 999 or go to A&E. An optician can check for both conditions in the same eye test.
Can you have cataract symptoms after cataract surgery?
Yes, sometimes. The NHS explains that vision can become cloudy or blurry again months or years after cataract surgery because of a condition called posterior capsule opacification (PCO), sometimes called a secondary cataract. It is not the cataract returning: the thin capsule that holds the new artificial lens becomes cloudy. The NHS advice is to see an optician if your vision becomes cloudy or blurry after surgery, as PCO can usually be treated. Sudden pain, redness or loss of vision after eye surgery is different and needs urgent help from the eye unit that treated you, NHS 111, or A&E.
Does health insurance cover cataract surgery?
Often, yes, if the cataract develops after the policy starts. Cataracts are usually treated as an acute condition because surgery fixes the problem, so many UK health insurance policies cover the consultation, surgery and standard replacement lens. A cataract you already had symptoms of, or had been told about, before joining is normally excluded as pre-existing. Premium lenses, such as multifocal lenses, may cost extra even when the operation is covered. Optical cover on a policy is different: it pays towards glasses and contact lenses, not surgery. Check the policy wording, as cover varies. Our private cataract surgery guide covers costs and lens choices in detail.
Important Information — Please Read
This 2026 guide is independent general information. It is not medical advice, it cannot diagnose a cataract or any eye condition, and nothing here replaces an eye test by an optician or assessment by an eye specialist. Clinical statements reflect published NHS patient information at the time of writing, which can change. Waiting-list figures are from the Health Foundation’s WIAH analysis of NHS England data for 2025 and vary by area. Price ranges are UK market-typical indications, not quotes; confirm directly with providers. For sudden eye pain with a red eye, halos, headache or sickness, call 999 or go to A&E. For sudden new floaters, flashes or a shadow across your vision, get an urgent optician appointment or call NHS 111. Insurance terms vary by provider and policy, so check the policy wording before relying on cover. Going Private UK is not affiliated with the NHS or any provider named. If you compare insurance quotes through this site, we may receive a commission from our FCA-regulated partners at no cost to you; this does not influence our guides.
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