After Laser Eye Surgery

Laser eye surgery can be the perfect answer for people who no longer want to wear contact lenses or glasses and who have eyes suitable for the laser eye surgery process. A lot of people know roughly what the surgery entails and the fact that it is safe and painless or only slightly uncomfortable but what happens after eye surgery?

It is very important after laser eye surgery that your follow the instructions the doctor has given you. Use any prescriptions you are given, get sufficient rest and call your doctor right away if anything seems to be wrong. What happens after laser eye surgery can affect your vision as much as the laser procedure itself.

After laser eye surgery, you will need to rest in the clinic for a while and then someone else will need to drive you home. Your eye will probably be covered with a protective pad which you will need to wear for a day. You should not be in pain but you might have discomfort around the eye area, which can be treated with painkillers. Your vision might be a bit blurry after the procedure but it should improve over the next couple of days. You will be given eye drops to promote healing and prevent eye infection and a date for a follow up visit. You might want to wear a hat or sunglasses when you leave the clinic, since your eyes after LASIK will probably be very sensitive to the light.

What Not to Do After LASIK

At home, you need to rest for several hours at least. You might be able to work the following day but most doctors will advise you to rest for a few days and avoid strenuous exercise for a week or so. You should not rub your eye because there is a small risk of dislodging the flap in the cornea. It is better to bathe rather than shower and avoid getting soap or shampoo in your eye. Do not screw your eyes up or rub them. Do not wear eye make up and do not play contact sports for several weeks after laser eye surgery. If you suffer from eye redness, loss of vision or severe pain, you should contact the clinic. This tips apply to LASEK and PRK as well as LASIK treatments.

Your vision after LASIK should be better immediately but sometimes the process can take days or weeks. LASIK can give you 20/20 vision but some people might only have 20/40 vision after the procedure. 20/40 vision is good enough to drive. It is possible that you will still need contact lenses or glasses after the LASIK surgery depending on how it goes but your prescription will be lower than it was before.

Possible Eye Surgery Complications

Some people are unlucky enough to suffer from postoperative complications such as night glare, floaters in the eye, dry eyes, seeing halos around objects in low light or an eye infection. Sometimes people might experience an improvement in their vision and then a worsening. This is rare but if it happens you might need a second operation.

After LASEK or PRK

LASEK is less likely to cause dry eyes than LASIK but the visual recovery time will be more. It often takes a couple of weeks before full functional vision is attained and this is similar to the healing time with PRK surgery. LASEK patients need to wear a bandage contact lens for several days after the surgery and use topical steroid drops for several weeks longer than LASIK patients do.

Whichever type of laser eye surgery you go for, it is important to know what will happen afterwards. If you have any more questions about life after LASIK, you should ask your doctor about this before the surgery.

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