Why wear dark glasses after cataract surgery?

Following cataract surgery it is normal to be a little light sensitive for several days or even weeks.

It is normal to experience much more light entering one’s eyes after cataracts are removed. People who undergo cataract surgery often describe the world with bright, brilliant colours and sometimes glare in strong sunlight. This is unsurprising: cataracts occur when the natural lens becomes cloudy and opaque, and cataracts do not let enough light into the eye – this is why cataracts obscure vision. When the cataract is removed and an artificial lens implanted, the world is seen in brilliant detail. Straight after cataract surgery, often people are not used to the extra light and sharp colour that comes in their eyes, and they find it all a bit dazzling at first. Thankfully this resolves over days or weeks as they get used to a world of brilliant colours and lights.  

Also, cataract surgery, even when performed perfectly well, often causes some symptoms of dry eyes, such as light-sensitive eyes, or feeling like there is a foreign body in the eye. This is part of the normal healing response of the surface of the eye following the surgery and generally passes over days and weeks.