Introduction
Halos or rainbows are bright circles of light perceived surrounding light sources like streetlights, headlights etc which at times could be annoying.
Light is made up of different colors, but because the rays focus on a single point, you can’t distinguish them. Thus, when you see halos or rainbows around lights, it may mean that scattering of light is occurring in the cornea or lens of the eye.
Although it does not affect visual acuity, it causes unease or irritability, and over time, may cause headaches and other health-related issues. It can be distracting and sometimes even dangerous.
It can be associated with:
- Astigmatism
- Cataracts
- Diabetes
- Dry eyes
- Farsightedness
- Glaucoma
- Kerataconus
- Nearsightedness
- Nutritional deficiency
- Ocular migraine
- Photokeratitis
- Presbyopia
- Retinitis pigmentosa
- Side effects of certain eye procedures like LASIK, radial keratotomy, penetrating keratoplasty etc
