After LASIK Surgery

After LASIK Surgery

The moments after a major life-altering event are usually filled with joy, laughter, and camaraderie, but this usually doesn’t happen after surgery. LASIK surgery is no different than any other surgery, but its drawbacks may be a little different than others.

The results of LASIK surgery are much akin to the results of being pestered by a pet day after day. Instead of the healing of bruises or incisions, LASIK surgery is accompanied by more burning and itching of an area that you are completely unable to scratch or cool. At this point, any touching of the eye could undo everything the surgery just repaired.

Your vision will be blurry because of the watering and tearing up of your eye, but you cannot under any circumstances touch your eye. The eye may appear dry or bloodshot for several days, if this occurs you should consider taking time off of work. If you experience severe pain from LASIK surgery at any time you should contact your surgeon.

Within 24-48 hours after your surgery you should have a post-operative exam to make sure everything is healing well. At regular intervals after the LASIK surgery up to six months you should continue seeing your doctor for checkups.

At the first visit after LASIK surgery your doctor will remove the shield and make sure your eye is responding correctly to the surgery. You will not be able to use contact lenses for sometime to keep from further irritation and you may have to use drops or artificial tears to help with lubricating the eye.

You will be urged to abstain from any contact sports or activities for several days as well as continuing to keep from lotions or perfumes that could irritate the eye. The doctor may advise you to regularly wash your eyes out in the weeks following LASIK surgery to prevent infection.

It may take several months to stabilize your vision after LASIK surgery has taken place. You may experience some small visual impairment during this time, including halos or glare due to the eye’s healing process. These are normal in the first few months after surgery, but if they persist you should contact your doctor.