Avoid Any Facial Applications: Avoid applying any facial applications, especially around your eyes. Creams, lotions and makeup should be avoided to prevent infection. Eye liner, eye shadow and mascara are especially dangerous because small particles from the makeup can enter or irritate your eye.
Protect Your Eyes from the Sun: You’ll find that your eyes are incredibly sensitive to bright light, especially sunlight, post-surgery. You may want to consider wearing your sunglasses indoors if the indoor lighting is bothering you as well. Wearing dark sunglasses to protect you from the sun or bright light is important for helping your cornea heal.
Avoid the Impulse to Touch or Rub Your Eyes: No matter how bad they burn or itch, do not touch your eyes after LASIK. Rubbing or scratching your eyes is a natural tendency that everyone is born with, and refraining from doing this will be the most challenging thing you face during the healing process.
Depending on the type of procedure and state of your eyes before surgery, LASIK healing can last as few as five days to a few weeks. Most patients are generally free to go about their general routines within a few days of the procedure.
During the LASIK healing period, it is common to experience vision fluctuations. Don’t be alarmed because they are a completely normal part of the recovery process! While your eyes are healing, your corneas stabilize in their new shape and your vision will experience the stabilization accordingly. Your vision fluctuation might be any of the following:
- Glare
- Halos
- Difficulty driving at night
These symptoms can last for only a few days or up to a few months after surgery. Although they are not worrisome, it’s important to communicate with your surgeon about your vision fluctuations during your follow-up appointments so you can be better monitored and advised throughout your post-op care.
If you are ready to find out if LASIK is right for you, contact Harvard Eye Associates at 949-951-2020 or harvardeye.com to schedule your free consultation.
