Sunday, February 5, 2012

Eye Care Before and After Lasik Surgery

Before Lasik surgery, care for the eye is fairly simple. The patient must refrain from wearing any eye makeup at least 24 hours before surgery, and stop taking any medications if directed by the doctor. Caring for the eye after surgery is completed is more complicated.

Caring properly for your eyes after Lasik surgery is a must if the surgery is to be successful. Your eyes need time to heal and time to allow your vision to stabilize. During your surgery, small cuts were made to your eye tissue. For the surgery to be successful, these must heal properly. While it may seem that a recovery period is not necessary, it truly is needed for best results.

For the first two or three days after surgery, the client will notice some changes to their eyes. They will itch, a little sore, dry, teary at times and will be extremely sensitive to light.
The most valuable thing here is to leave your eyes alone. Do not rub them or dab at them with a cloth. Most patients receive a combination of eye drops after surgery to help with these symptoms. Make sure that to follow through with the use of these drops, for they will help your eyes heal safely. Usually there is a drop to lubricate your eyes. When they feel itchy or dry, use these drops. The doctor will show the patient how to care for their eyes and clean your lashes during the healing period.

During the first three days, the client will have blurry vision. The patient will not be able to work, and may need someone to help with basic care. Most important, remove any obstacles that could be a tripping or bumping hazard from the living space. After the first several days, the vision will clear, and the client will be able to return to work.

After the first several days, the patient will be able to return to performing non-active sports and activities.
These are activities that will not cause or put the client in a position to cause trauma to the eye area. Walking or ordinary household chores are acceptable. Simple games like catching a ball, some video games, and playing hide and seek could cause problems. This will continue for about a month after your surgery.

Most patients need to wear a night goggle after the surgery. This is to prevent the patient from hurting their eyes during sleep. This shield will need to be worn for about a month after surgery, and it is essential to the healing process that this routine be followed. Your eyes will also be particularly sensitive to light for a time after surgery. It is best to wear dark glasses during this period, even indoors. This sensitivity to light causes involuntary wrinkling of skin around the eyes; the dark glasses will lessen this effect to a large degree. The glasses will also help the client avoid being blinded by sudden changes in light.

Another activity that needs to be avoided for several months after surgery is swimming, whirlpool baths and hot tubs. All of these types of activities have been shown to disrupt the healing of the eye. The combination of heat and change in pressures caused by these activities affects the eyes. Expect to have to refrain from these activities for about two months after surgery. This is true whether or not the head or eyes is put under the water.

Your vision may take several months to clear completely to the final result. This is perfectly normal; most of the changes will occur directly after surgery. As long as your doctor's guidelines are followed, your eyes should heal just fine.  


Larry Lim writes on Lasik side effects and the latest in vision correction technology. He previously wrote about Epilasik, a new breakthrough in Lasik eye surgery. 



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