Cataract: symptoms, surgery and free treatment in India
What a cataract is, how it affects sight, when surgery is worth it, what the operation involves, and where free cataract surgery is available in India.
Also known as: Artificial Lens; Intraocular Lens
What a cataract is
Inside the eye, behind the coloured iris, sits a clear lens that focuses light onto the retina. A cataract is a clouding of this lens. Light is scattered rather than focused, so vision becomes blurred, hazy or dim — like looking through a fogged or dirty window.
Most cataracts develop slowly with age, in one or both eyes. Cataract is one of the leading causes of poor vision and blindness worldwide, including in India, yet the vision it takes away can be restored with a short, safe operation. Children can also be born with or develop cataracts, which need urgent attention because they can stop the eye's vision developing.
Symptoms
- Blurred or cloudy vision that gradually worsens
- Glare from sunlight, headlights or bright lamps
- Halos around lights
- Faded colours, or a yellowish tint
- Poor night vision and difficulty driving at night
- Frequent change of glasses that help less each time
- Double vision in one eye
Some people find for a while that they can read without their glasses again, because the cataract changes the eye's focus. A white or grey pupil, or a squint, in a baby or young child needs an urgent eye check.
Causes and who is at risk
- Increasing age — the most common cause
- Diabetes
- Long-term use of steroid tablets, inhalers at high doses or steroid eye drops
- Smoking and heavy alcohol use
- Long exposure to strong sunlight, as for outdoor workers
- Eye injury or previous eye surgery
- A family history, and infections in pregnancy such as rubella (for childhood cataracts)
How it is diagnosed
- Visual acuity test — reading letters on a chart, with and without glasses
- Slit-lamp examination — a microscope that shows the cataract and the front of the eye
- Dilated eye examination — drops widen the pupil so the doctor can check the retina and optic nerve for other problems, such as diabetic eye disease or glaucoma
- Biometry — before surgery, measurements of the eye to calculate the power of the new lens
These checks also show whether something other than the cataract is affecting vision, which tells you how much improvement to expect from surgery.
Which doctor to see
Cataracts are diagnosed and operated on by an ophthalmologist — an eye surgeon. Optometrists can detect cataracts during an eye test and refer you. You can find ophthalmologists in Bengaluru on The Doctor Index, each with a registration you can check.
Treatment
In the early stages, stronger glasses, better lighting and anti-glare lenses may be enough. Surgery is advised when the cataract interferes with daily life — reading, working, cooking, driving, recognising faces or moving around safely. There is no need to wait for a cataract to become 'ripe'; that is an old idea, and very advanced cataracts are harder to remove.
Cataract surgery
In cataract surgery, the cloudy lens is removed through a tiny cut and replaced with a clear artificial lens, an intraocular lens (IOL). The most common method breaks the lens up with ultrasound (phacoemulsification); another, small-incision cataract surgery, is widely used in India and gives good results. The operation is usually done under local anaesthetic, takes a short time, and you go home the same day. One eye is operated on at a time.
Several types of lens are available — standard lenses that focus at one distance, and others that also correct astigmatism or give a range of focus. Ask your surgeon which suits your eyes, work and budget. Most people still need reading glasses afterwards.
Under India's National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment, free cataract surgery is offered at district hospitals and at identified NGO eye hospitals and private practitioners. Ask at your nearest government hospital or eye camp.
Recovery and follow-up
- Use the prescribed eye drops exactly as directed, and do not stop them early
- Wear the eye shield at night for the first days, and do not rub or press the eye
- Avoid dust, smoke, swimming and heavy lifting for the period your surgeon advises
- Keep every follow-up appointment
- Months or years later, vision may become cloudy again because the membrane behind the new lens thickens; a quick laser treatment clears it
Most people notice clearer, brighter vision within days, though it can take a few weeks to settle fully. You will usually need new glasses, prescribed once the eye has healed. If you have diabetes, keep your sugar well controlled before and after surgery and continue regular retina checks, as diabetic eye disease can still affect vision.
When it is an emergency
After cataract surgery, go to your eye hospital the same day — or call 112 or 108 if you cannot get there — for:
- Increasing pain in the operated eye
- Worsening vision instead of improvement
- Increasing redness, swelling or discharge
- Flashes, a shower of floaters or a curtain over part of your vision
Sudden loss of vision in either eye, at any time, also needs emergency care.
Questions to ask at your appointment
- Is my cataract the main reason for my poor vision?
- Is now the right time for surgery?
- Which type of surgery and lens do you recommend, and why?
- Do I have other eye conditions that will limit the result?
- How should I manage my diabetes or blood thinners around surgery?
- What should I avoid during recovery?
Common questions
Questions people ask
- Do I have to wait for my cataract to ripen?
- No. This is an outdated idea. Modern surgery works best before the cataract becomes very dense. The right time is when the cataract affects your daily activities or safety, which you and your eye surgeon decide together.
- Can eye drops dissolve a cataract?
- No. No eye drop, tablet or herbal product has been shown to dissolve or reverse a cataract. Surgery is the only effective treatment. Using such products can delay surgery and may irritate the eye.
- Is cataract surgery safe?
- Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed and successful operations. As with any surgery, there are risks, including infection, swelling and, rarely, retinal detachment. Following aftercare instructions and attending follow-up visits reduces these risks.
- Can a cataract come back after surgery?
- The cataract itself cannot return, because the cloudy lens has been removed. However, the thin membrane holding the new lens can become cloudy months or years later, causing blurred vision again. This is treated quickly and painlessly with a laser in the clinic.
This condition is usually assessed by an ophthalmologist. Every profile shows the doctor’s registration and what has been checked.
Ophthalmologists in Bangalore
A few ophthalmologists listed on The Doctor Index. They are shown because of their speciality, not a stated interest in Cataract; ask the clinic whether the doctor sees it.
Related conditions
All ophthalmology conditions →
Practical reading
All postsSources
- MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine — Cataract
- American Academy of Ophthalmology — What Are Cataracts?
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare — National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment
- MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine — Cataract — Public-domain health-topic summary
Cataract: symptoms, surgery and free treatment in India is original text by The Doctor Index; the compiled source draft was used for research. Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999; July 2026 data, CC BY 4.0. This product uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (hp/releases/2026-09-01). Only sources listed for this article apply. Source material has been selected and arranged; HPO definitions are reproduced without alteration. No source organisation endorses this compilation. Köhler S et al. The Human Phenotype Ontology project: linking molecular biology and disease through phenotype data. Nucleic Acids Research 2014;42(D1):D966–D974. doi:10.1093/nar/gkt1026.
General information, not advice about your situation. Errors can be reported through the corrections process. Reference TDI-C-0446.