What Is The Recovery Like After LASIK?
Are you concerned about what recovering after LASIK is like? Do you need reassurance before you decide to undergo a procedure on your eyes?
LASIK is extremely common and has a very high success rate. LASIK, like all surgeries, has a recovery process. Keep reading to learn more about what the recovery is like after you have LASIK!
Immediately After LASIK
While you are getting ready to leave the surgery center, you will be given a pair of eyeshields. These eye shields exist to make sure you don’t rub or bump your eyes while you sleep.
They aren’t pretty but they get the job done! Make sure you wear them while sleeping after you have LASIK, at least for the first few nights. The flap that’s created during LASIK is quite delicate, so the less you touch your eyes, the better.
Do Not Touch Your Eyes
This is the most important factor in having a good recovery process. During the first week after LASIK, you should not touch your eyes.
This helps your eyes heal. Your eyes might feel a bit uncomfortable as they recover, so you may have the urge to rub them!
Do whatever you can to avoid this urge! Touching your eyes can lead to infection, complications, or problems with your vision.
If your eyes are itchy or uncomfortable, use artificial tears or eye drops instead to make them feel better.
Relax
Relaxation and rest are two of the best ways to let your eyes heal after LASIK. Sleep is the time when your body works to repair itself.
This is the only time when this process happens. In fact, if you want to start your recovery off strong, taking a nap when you get home after LASIK is a great start!
You may also want to think about taking a day or two off of work. Your eyes need time to get used to their new normal.
Go to Your Follow-Up Appointments
The day after your LASIK procedure and through the next few weeks, you will need to attend a series of follow-up appointments. They allow your doctor to monitor your recovery and find any problems early on.
You must attend all follow-up appointments! If you don’t think you can, you should consider whether you should get LASIK or not. Seeing your eye doctor is an extremely important part of the recovery process.
Use Your Prescription Eye Drops
Besides going to follow-up appointments, you also need to use the prescription eye drops given to you. You need to follow these instructions exactly as instructed to a T to have a smooth recovery process.
Before you use the eye drops you need to wash your hands before touching your eyes. Your eyes will be much more susceptible to infection after LASIK. Bacteria can easily travel from your hands into your eyes and cause problems.
Have a Clean Environment
Like having clean hands, you need to stay in clean environments after you have LASIK. Avoid being in any dusty or smoky rooms or places with fumes like laboratories, darkrooms, etc.
Particles in these environments could end up in your eyes and could lead to severe complications.
Don’t Wear Any Make-Up
During the first week after LASIK, you should not wear makeup. It helps your eyes remain clean and bacteria-free.
If you must wear makeup, keep it away from your eyes! This means no eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, or anything that comes near your eyes.
Wear Sunglasses
During your recovery, your eyes may become more sensitive to light. If you are going to be inside or outside in bright areas, you should wear sunglasses.
Make sure if you’re outside that your sunglasses provide enough protection from UVA and UVB rays.
Avoid Impact Sports
For the first two weeks, you cannot go swimming in any bodies of water (lakes, rivers, the ocean, pool) or into a hot tub. Also, during the first month of recovery, you are not allowed to play any impact sports.
If you’ll be around things that may cause you to get hit in the face or head, you should remove yourself to be safe.
Are you ready to find out if LASIK is right for you? Schedule a LASIK consultation at Ginsberg Eye in Naples, FL now!
