What To Expect The First Few Weeks After LASIK Surgery

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Posted by: Missouri Eye Institute in Blog on April 19, 2018

There are a significant number of LASIK eye surgery benefits, and you may know a lot of them if you’ve chosen to undergo LASIK yourself. With LASIK, you no longer have to worry about your glasses when you’re laying down, playing sports, or going out for a night on the town. In fact, LASIK is so popular that by 2020 as many as 718,000 LASIK surgeries will be performed in the United States.

However, while it’s true you can expect a number of LASIK eye surgery benefits, you may be asking yourself what you can expect once you’ve returned home from the surgery. Here’s what you can expect the day after your surgery as well as the next few weeks.

What To Expect: Directly After Surgery

Your laser eye surgeon will be able to correct your eyesight in as little as one office visit. Immediately after surgery, you can expect some discomfort when the anesthetic drops begin to wear off. Your surgeon may suggest over-the-counter pain reliever to reduce this discomfort.

Your eyes may water for a few hours after the procedure, but this is normal. Your surgeon may also provide you with protective shields to wear at night after your surgery to prevent rubbing your eyes while you sleep.

What To Expect: The First Few Weeks

As your eyes begin to heal, you may experience hazy vision, halos around lights, and light sensitivity. However, a few days after the procedure you’ll be able to drive your vehicle and return to your regular activities including work.

For at least a week after the surgery you must avoid the following things:

• Getting water or soap in your eyes while showering
• Wearing eye makeup
• Getting sweat in your eyes during sports or exercising
• Swimming in chlorinated pools
• Rubbing your eyes

It’s essential that you don’t swim in natural bodies of water for at least 30 days after your surgery.

What To Expect: After Six Months

By six months after the procedure, you’ll be able to perform everyday activities without worrying about irritating or infecting your eyes. However, in some cases, you may experience continued visual problems.

If you do continue to experience these problems such as light sensitivity or glare, your eye surgeon may recommend a follow-up procedure for accurate vision correction. Your eye surgeon will continue to check your eyes after six months to ensure your eyes are healing properly.

There are multiple LASIK eye surgery benefits that will last you a lifetime. To learn more about what LASIK can do for you and what you can expect after surgery, contact Missouri Eye Institute today.