After Lasik Surgery
Immediately after the lasik procedure, your eye may burn, itch, or feel like there is something in it. You may experience some discomfort, or in some cases, mild pain and your doctor may suggest you take a mild pain reliever. Both your eyes may tear or water. Your vision will probably be hazy or blurry. You will instinctively want to rub your eye, but don't! Rubbing your eye could dislodge the flap, requiring further treatment. In addition, you may experience sensitivity to light, glare, starbursts or haloes around lights, or the whites of your eye may look red or bloodshot. These symptoms should improve considerably within the first few days after surgery. You should plan on taking a few days off from work until these symptoms subside. You should contact your lasik doctor immediately and not wait for your scheduled visit, if you experience severe pain, or if your vision or other symptoms get worse instead of better.
You should see your lasik doctor within the first 24 to 48 hours after lasik surgery and at regular intervals after that for at least the first six months. At the first postoperative visit, your lasik doctor will remove the eye shield, test your vision, and examine your eye. Your lasik doctor may give you one or more types of eye drops to take at home to help prevent infection and/or inflammation. You may also be advised to use artificial tears to help lubricate the eye. Do not resume wearing a contact lens in the operated eye, even if your vision is blurry.
You should wait one to three days following lasik surgery before beginning any non-contact sports, depending on the amount of activity required, how you feel, and your lasik doctor's instructions.
To help prevent infection, you may need to wait for up to two weeks after lasik surgery or until your lasik doctor advises you otherwise before using lotions, creams, or make-up around the eye. Your lasik doctor may advise you to continue scrubbing your eyelashes for a period of time after surgery. You should also avoid swimming and using hot tubs or whirlpools for 1-2 months.
Strenuous contact sports such as boxing, football, karate, etc. should not be attempted for at least four weeks after lasik surgery. It is important to protect your eyes from anything that might get in them and from being hit or bumped.
During the first few months after lasik surgery, your vision may fluctuate.
- It may take up to three to six months for your vision to stabilize after lasik surgery.
- Glare, haloes, difficulty driving at night, and other visual symptoms may also persist during this stabilization period. If further correction or enhancement is necessary, you should wait until your eye measurements are consistent for two consecutive visits at least 3 months apart before re-operation.
- It is important to realize that although distance vision may improve after re-operation, it is unlikely that other visual symptoms such as glare or haloes will improve.
- It is also important to note that no laser company has presented enough evidence for the FDA to make conclusions about the safety or effectiveness of enhancement surgery.
Contact your lasik eye doctor immediately, if you develop any new, unusual or worsening symptoms at any point after lasik surgery. Such symptoms could signal a problem that, if not treated early enough, may lead to a loss of vision.