Dos and Don’ts After Laser Eye Surgery — Guidelines to Follow

 

After having vision correction with laser eye surgery, you enter the phase of laser eye surgery recovery. This healing period is typically uneventful and follows an expected course. However, if your laser eye surgery didn’t go exactly according to plan, or if you don’t follow the post-op instructions properly, or if you’re just plain unlucky, you may experience a complication. Out of these three causes of complications, only one of them is within your control – following your surgeon’s post-operative instructions. So, here are the dos and don’ts after laser eye surgery. 

 

The Dos and Don’ts After Laser Eye Surgery

The exact contents of your list of dos and don’ts after laser eye surgery can depend slightly on the technique of laser eye surgery you had for your vision correction. This is because some methods require a longer laser eye surgery recovery period – for example, an eye having undergone PRK will take longer to heal than one that had LASIK. Different laser eye surgery techniques can also have risks that are specific to that technique. An example of this is flap-related complications being unique to LASIK; PRK and SMILE laser eye surgery methods don’t require the formation of a corneal flap. 

However, there are some general guidelines of what to do (and not do) during the laser eye surgery recovery period. If you have specific questions, be sure to ask them directly to your surgeon.  

 

Do attend all your review appointments

After you’ve had your vision correction procedure, the clinic will organise your follow-up appointments. The exact scheduling of these can depend on how your surgery went and your general risk of complication, but it usually will be a day or two after your laser eye surgery and about a month later. Many surgeons will want to see how you’re faring a few months after that as well. The clinical team will check your sight and ensure your eyes are healing as expected. 

 

Do use your eyedrops as instructed

Immediately after your laser eye surgery, your surgeon will give you a prescription for medicated eye drops. This is usually 2 to 3 bottles, including an anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic. Inflammation is a natural part of the body’s healing response. However, too much inflammation can be detrimental to your laser eye surgery recovery, so the drops are there to help manage it. The antibiotic is a preventative treatment as the eyes are vulnerable to bacterial infection while healing. 

Your dosing schedule can vary over the 4 or so weeks that you’ve been instructed to use the medication. You may start with 4 times a day, eventually dropping down to twice and then to once. If you find this confusing or have a tendency to forget to instil them, write a chart up for yourself or put notes somewhere that will remind you. 

If your eyes are quick to feel better, it can be tempting to cease using the drops early. Avoid doing this, as your eyes are still healing even if they feel back to normal. Stopping the anti-inflammatory drop too soon can cause rebound inflammation, while failing to use the antibiotic exposes your eyes to the risk of infection. 

 

 

Don’t get contaminants in or near your eyes

Dirt and dust are obvious contaminants that you want to avoid immediately after your laser eye surgery procedure, though there may be environments that you don’t think may pose a risk. If it’s a gusty day, consider staying indoors. Avoid dusty areas of the house, such as the basement or attic. If there’s smoke around, like during a barbeque or firepit, you may also want to avoid that area, too, as your eyes will be feeling quite sensitive.

Other sources of infection risk are bodies of water such as swimming pools, spas and saunas, and the beach. It’ll be about a month before it’s safe to go swimming. You should also try to keep cosmetics and other products away from your eyes for the first month or until your surgeon says it’s safe to use them again. 

 

Do protect your eyes from the risk of injury

You should always be protecting your eyes against injury and trauma, but during the recovery period after laser eye surgery, they will be even more vulnerable and sensitive. Contact sports or rough play should be avoided, particularly if you’ve had LASIK, due to the risk of dislodging the corneal flap.  

 

Don’t return to work too soon

Depending on what your vocation is and your typical work responsibilities, you may return to work in as soon as a few days. This is appropriate for people who have reasonably sedentary tasks, like working at a desk.

Those whose tasks require manual labour, such as heavy lifting, or involve dirty environments, such as construction sites, may need to take a week or two longer off work. 

Allow your body to get the rest it needs after having laser eye surgery. House chores such as mopping, vacuuming, and scrubbing can be delayed until you’ve had adequate time to recover. 

 

Don’t delay if you think your sight or eyes are deteriorating

Depending on which technique of laser vision correction you had, your eyes can feel a little uncomfortable for some time. You may experience a scratchy, burning, sore, or itching sensation in the eyes, and they can be a little red. Your sight may also take between a day to a month or so to clear completely, depending on what type of surgery you had. However, at no point should your vision deteriorate or your eye become increasingly sore or red. If this happens, contact your surgeon immediately or go to your hospital emergency department. 

Call us on (03) 9070 5788 today for a consultation.

 

 

Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner. 

 

 

 

References

Laser eye surgery | HealthDirect 
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/laser-eye-surgery