While LASIK laser eye surgery is very successful, it is vital that you follow your doctor’s advice and do all possible to prepare for your procedure and recuperation. We’ve put up a collection of important ideas and information for preparing for and recovering from surgery lasik to help you get started.

Recommendations for lasik eye surgery preparation

Prepare for your laser vision correction treatment by taking proactive steps. This is one of the most effective ways to guarantee that your surgery lasik and recovery go as well as possible. There are a number of methods to prepare for your visit, fortunately.

Make plans to take time off from work.

Although LASIK laser eye surgery has minimal downtime, you should anticipate on missing work for a few days. While some individuals may return to work after surgery lasik in as little as 24 hours, others may need several days before their eyesight is clear enough to return to work. Your LASIK surgeon may advise you on how much time you should expect to miss from work during the treatment.

Returning to your home

After your LASIK procedure, you will be able to return home promptly, but you will not be able to drive until your LASIK surgeon gives you the green light. In an ideal scenario, a friend or family member should drive you home and stay with you until your eyesight improves gradually. Prepare for your visit by resolving this issue ahead of time.

Cosmetics aren’t allowed.

Your face should be completely makeup-free on the day of your surgery. You should also avoid using moisturizers and other similar products.

Carefully prepare your clothing.

Even if your LASIK surgery office is unlikely to resemble a runway, it is still a good idea to plan your attire ahead of time. For fear of blocking their eyesight, many patients are told not to wear anything that forces them to pull their hair tightly over their heads. Choose a button-down shirt wherever possible.

While LASIK laser eye surgery is incredibly successful, it is critical that you follow your doctor’s advise and do all you can to prepare for your treatment and recovery. To get you started, we’ve compiled a list of useful tips and information for preparing for and recovering from surgery lasik.

Suggestions for preparing for LASIK eye surgery

Take proactive efforts to prepare for your laser vision repair treatment. This is one of the most effective ways to guarantee that your surgery and recovery go as well as possible. There are various choices for preparation for your visit, fortunately.

Make arrangements to take time off work.

Although LASIK laser eye surgery has low downtime, you can expect to miss some work. While you may be able to return to work after laser eye surgery in as little as 24 hours, some may need several days before their vision is clear enough to work. Your LASIK surgeon will be able to tell you how much time you will be off of work during the procedure.

Returning to your home

You’ll be allowed to go home immediately after your surgery lasik, but you won’t be able to drive until your LASIK surgeon gives you the green light. In an ideal world, you’d have a friend or family member drive you home and remain with you until your vision considerably improves. Make a mental note of this before you go.

Cosmetics are prohibited.

On the day of your procedure, you should remove any makeup from your face. Moisturizers and other cosmetics should also be avoided.

Carefully prepare your clothing.

While your LASIK clinic is unlikely to resemble a runway, dressing accordingly is always a good idea. This is because many patients are instructed not to wear anything that makes them pull their hair firmly over their heads for fear of obstructing their vision. If at all feasible, wear a button-down shirt.

Suggestions for recovering after LASIK eye surgery

Here’s our best advice for a quick and painless recovery after LASIK surgery.

Make an effort not to touch your eyes.

While it’s natural for your eyes to feel itchy and unpleasant following LASIK surgery, you should avoid touching them since this might let germs to enter and infect your eyes. To prevent accidentally touching their eyes, some individuals prefer to sleep with a mask or goggles on.

Snooze for a while.

You should avoid any activity that requires extended high degrees of attention for the first 24 hours following your LASIK operation, such as reading or using a computer. We propose that you take advantage of every chance to relax since this is when our bodies recover the fastest.

Any drug should be taken exactly as prescribed.

You may be given eye drops to use after your LASIK laser eye surgery. These components help the body repair and generate the greatest outcomes. To get the most out of your laser eye surgery, make sure you take these medications at the times and doses prescribed by your LASIK eye surgery specialist.

Sports should be avoided at all costs.

Whether you favor contact or solo sports, you should take a break from this activity. This is because even minor injuries may have an adverse effect on your eyes and the result of your LASIK eye surgery treatment. Even while swimming with goggles, this is true. Only resume your sport after your eye doctor has given you the green light.

Pay attention to your surgeon’s instructions.

As with everything medical, it’s critical that you follow your surgeon’s instructions to the letter. They are dedicated to assisting you in achieving the greatest eyesight possible. Do not be hesitant to seek for clarification if you are unclear about anything.

Contact lens users may find LASIK surgery preparation particularly difficult. Prior to the LASIK treatment, you will be recommended not to use contact lenses. The amount of time you must be away from them is determined on their composition. If you use soft lenses, you must take them out 5 to 7 days before your pre-operative exam and procedure. If toric lenses are used to cure astigmatism, they must be removed for ten to fourteen days.

During your first consultation, you will be told how long you must refrain from wearing other kinds of specialist lenses before surgery. Many people are puzzled as to why contacts must be removed before to LASIK eye surgery. That is an excellent question! Contact lenses may alter the curvature of the cornea, the eye’s front surface, which is crucial for LASIK eye surgery calculations. When you come in for your first consultation, inquire about how long you should go without contacts before LASIK surgery.

Why Is It Necessary to Remove Contact Lenses Before LASIK Surgery?

Is it possible to use contact lenses before LASIK surgery? In a nutshell, the answer is no. After your consultation, you should wait until your dilated pre-op exam and surgery to use contact lenses. This will return your cornea to its original form. Bacteria may be found in contact lenses, regardless of how carefully they are cared for. Another reason to avoid using contact lenses before LASIK eye surgery is that this bacteria may raise the risk of infection.

After laser eye surgery, can I use contact lenses?

The answer is generally no throughout the postoperative phase. They dehydrate you and may include microorganisms that slow your recuperation. The objective is that after you’ve fully healed, you won’t need them anymore. If you do, you should be able to wear them most of the time without incident. You’ll need a new prescription as well as a new fitting, however.

Is wearing glasses important before LASIK eye surgery?

Is it essential to wear glasses after LASIK eye surgery if you previously did not use contacts? Your prescription and the amount to which you depend on corrective lenses will determine this. It may be difficult to give up contacts before your LASIK eye surgery appointment if you have a high prescription. However, in order to function properly, you must not use contact lenses in the weeks leading up to your treatment. Make sure you obtain new glasses if you need them.

The most well-known and often performed laser refractive surgery method for vision correction is laser eye surgery. LASIK, or laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, is a surgery that may be used to replace contact lenses or glasses.

In order to improve eyesight, lasik surgery employs a particular kind of cutting laser to precisely modify the shape of the dome-shaped transparent tissue in front of the eye (cornea).

In eyes with proper vision, the cornea bends (refracts) light exactly onto the retina in the back of the eye. Nearsightedness (myopia), hyperopia (hyperopia), and astigmatism, on the other hand, distort the light, resulting in distorted vision.

While glasses or contact lenses may be used to correct vision, corneal reshaping can also provide the necessary refraction.

Why is it done this way?

Laser eye surgery may be an effective treatment for one or more of the following vision problems:

Myopia 

Light rays concentrate in front of the retina when your eyeball is somewhat longer than normal or the cornea is too sharply curved, obscuring distant vision. Objects that are near to you can be seen clearly, while items that are far away cannot.

Precognition (hyperopia).

Light is directed behind the retina rather than on it when the eyeball is shorter than normal or the cornea is too flat. Close vision and, in certain situations, distant vision are both harmed as a result of this.

Astigmatism.

When the cornea bends or flattens unevenly, astigmatism arises, interfering with the focus of near and distant vision.

If you’re contemplating LASIK, you’re probably already wearing glasses or contact lenses. Your eye doctor will discuss with you to see whether LASIK or another kind of refractive treatment is a good fit for you.

Risks

Visual loss as a consequence of complications is exceedingly rare. However, certain LASIK side effects are rather common, particularly dry eyes and temporary visual difficulties like glare.

These usually go away within a few weeks or months, and just a few people think of them as a long-term problem.

The following are some of the dangers of LASIK:

Eyes that are swollen and irritated.

Tear production is temporarily reduced after LASIK. As your eyes heal, they may seem particularly dry for the first six months or so after surgery. Your eyesight may be harmed by dry eyes.

To treat dry eyes, your eye doctor may prescribe eyedrops. If you have severe dry eyes, special plugs may be inserted in your tear ducts to prevent tears from draining away from the surface of your eyes.

Halos, glare, and double vision are all symptoms of double vision.

You may have problems seeing at night after your LASIK, which usually lasts a few days to a few weeks. Symptoms include increased sensitivity to light, glare, halos around bright lights, and double vision.

Even if you get a good visual result under standard testing conditions, your vision in dim light (such as at twilight or in fog) may be impaired to a greater degree than before surgery.

Under-corrections.

You will not attain the increased eyesight you seek if the laser damages inadequate tissue in your eye. Individuals who are nearsighted are more prone to need undercorrections. You may need another LASIK procedure within a year to eliminate additional tissue.

Overcorrections.

Furthermore, the laser may remove an excessive amount of tissue from your eye. It’s possible that fixing overcorrections is more difficult than correcting undercorrections.

Astigmatism.

The loss of tissue in an uneven manner may cause astigmatism. It’s possible that you’ll need further surgery, glasses, or contact lenses.

Issues with the flaps.

Folding back or removing the flap from the front of your eye during surgery might cause problems including infection and excessive tears. The outermost corneal tissue layer underneath the flap may form improperly throughout the healing process.

Regression.

When your eyesight progressively returns to your previous prescription, this is known as regression. This is an issue that occurs seldom.

Vision loss or change.

Surgical complications may also result in vision loss. Furthermore, some people may lose their ability to see as sharply or clearly as they did before.

Hazards are exacerbated by certain circumstances.

Certain medical conditions might increase the risks of laser eye surgery or make the results less predictable.

Your doctor may not recommend laser refractive surgery if you have certain conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or a weakened immune system caused by immunosuppressive medications or HIV.

• Corneal inflammation, lid abnormalities, eye traumas, or eye diseases such as uveitis, herpes simplex in the eye area, glaucoma, or cataracts 
• Corneal inflammation, lid abnormalities, eye traumas, or eye illnesses such as uveitis, herpes simplex in the eye region, glaucoma, or cataracts

If you have an eye illness that causes the cornea to thin and bulge, or if you have a family history of it, laser eye surgery is typically not recommended:

• engage in contact sports that may include blows to the face 
• have severe nearsightedness 
• have exceptionally big pupils or thin corneas 
• have age-related eye changes that cause vision to become less clear 
• have age-related eye changes that cause vision to become less clear

If you’re contemplating laser eye surgery, talk to your doctor about your worries and questions. Your doctor will evaluate whether you are a good candidate for this or similar procedures.

Methods of preparation

The following are some of the actions you may take to prepare for laser eye surgery:

Be informed about the financial ramifications of surgery.

Most insurance companies will not cover the cost of laser eye surgery since it is deemed elective. Prepare to pay for your expenses with your own money.

Arrange for return transportation.

You’ll need transportation to and from the surgery center. You may have leftover effects from the medicine you took before the laser eye surgery, and your vision may be blurry.

Don’t use any eye makeup.

Avoid applying eye makeup, creams, scents, or lotions the day before and the day of your surgery. In the days leading up to surgery, your doctor may encourage you to brush your eyelashes daily or more often to remove debris and lower your risk of infection.

What to look forward to

Prior to the procedure: Patients who are properly evaluated prior to eye surgery to ensure they are good candidates for the treatment frequently have the best long-term LASIK results.

If you use contact lenses, which have the potential to change the curvature of your cornea, you must stop using them and only wear your glasses for at least a few weeks before your evaluation and operation. Depending on the kind of contacts you use and how long you’ve been using them, your doctor will give you specific guidelines.