If you’ve had LASIK or are preparing for your surgery, you’re wondering what the recovery will be. You might have questions like, can I shower, wear my makeup, go to work, workout.
No matter where you happen to be in your Lasik recovery journey. In the first few hours after Lasik, you’re going to want to rest up, your surgeon might provide you with a clear eye shield, and you should wear that immediately following your surgery and for the first potentially a couple of days.
What to do once the surgery has been completed?
The best thing to do at this time is to go home and take a nap, and immediately after surgery, it’s pretty normal to feel some stinging or burning in your eyes. You might have mild discomfort or pain and blurry or hazy vision, and glare and halos around lights.
You might also even notice redness on the white part of your eye—visual expectations during the first few hours. Many of the patients report being able to see well even right after their surgery.
But don’t be alarmed if your vision is still slightly blurred or you notice halos around whites at this point as far as medications and drops you’ll be using in the first couple of hours.
What things need to be avoided after the surgery?
Your ophthalmologist or surgeon will prescribe antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and often recommend rewetting drops as partial to preservative-free artificial tears. You can use those as much as possible in terms of things to avoid; this is the time to avoid physical exertion.
Skip the workouts. Those first few days on the computer should be limited as well. You are lying low; take it easy on yourself the first couple of hours. You’ll want to make sure you have someone available to drive you home that day. It is probably best to take a couple of days off work in the first few days off, depending on your job duties.
How much time after the surgery should you go for a follow-up?
In the first 24 to 48 hours after surgery, expect a follow-up with your lasik surgeon (Visual Aids Centre) and continue to use all the prescribed drops, which should be an antibiotic and a steroid, as your surgeon recommended you do. Make sure to sleep with those eyes shielded if your surgeon has advised you to. In the first few weeks, your vision will steadily improve. Knight driving should be getting better and better all the time, and you should continue to use all the drops as directed and make sure to return to your post-ops.
Now you’re post-ops could be with your surgeon, or they may be with the optometrist or ophthalmologist who referred you to your lease exertion. It depends on the situation, so make sure you follow up for your post-ops with whoever they are scheduled with.
What activities need to be avoided after the surgery?
During those first few weeks, you can go back to regular activity, but you want to avoid to get in touch with sports to minimize the risk of getting poked in the eye and, therefore, the flap from your LASIK becoming dislodged and causing a problem. Now the first month, some mild dryness is usual. Using artificial tears is critical if you have dryness of your eyes during that first month. You’ll start tapering off of your drops in your doctor’s direction during this time.
It’s essential to report any changes you have in your vision. Keep all of your follow-up appointments, and during this time, you should continue to avoid swimming in hot tubs and exposure to smoke. You want to keep soap and chemicals away from your eyes within reason.
Is washing the face should be avoided after Lasik?
You can restart washing your face, washing your hair, and taking a shower after about the first few days. However, you want to keep things from getting directly into your eye because your eyes may still be a bit irritating,d and other soap and chemicals will only make that worse. You also want to avoid eye makeup and creams probably for the first several weeks to be very conservative, and you want to take frequent breaks from digital screens to rest your eyes.
Is there any need to wear glasses after the surgery?
Ongoing, more extended-term care for Lasik continues to return for yearly exams. Even if your vision is perfect and you don’t need any glasses, your eye doctor will still want to look in the back of your eye, examine your LASIK, and make sure that nothing adverse is occurring.
Suppose you have a slight change in your prescription. Your doctor might advise distance only night driving glasses. This happens very frequently for many patients who’ve had Lasik.
A few years later, they might have a tiny prescription that only affects them when driving at night. In both those cases, you might be a good candidate for having just night going to help make things sharper while driving at night. Small prescriptions after Lasik are regular and often do not require glasses.
Is Lasik surgery everlasting?
In some cases, if your vision changes enough, your doctor might recommend a touch-up Lasik procedure. It’s also important to remember that at some point in your 40s, you will start to lose your near vision. This is called Presbyopia; it depends on the person, but most people do need reading glasses between the age of 40 to 50, so don’t be surprised if you start having some trouble up close long term; you’re going to want to continue to wear eye protection even years after Lasik if you’re doing any high-risk activities.
Keep in mind that Lasik recovery time can vary depending on factors like your vision prescription, your health history, and your overall health status; your eye doctor will give you specific post-surgery instructions and a recovery plan, and it’s essential to follow those.
It is recommended to contact your eye doctor immediately if you experience new or worsening symptoms after your Lasik eye surgery (read more).
