Life After LASIK

Did you know that 90% of people achieve 20/20 vision after LASIK? And nearly everyone (99%) has 20/40 vision or better.

The phenomenal success of LASIK surgery means you can look forward to clear vision for many years after our experienced team at Eye Care & Surgery performs your surgery.

Here, we explore long-term life after LASIK, then explain life in the days and months after surgery.

Life after LASIK

You’re considering (or have already decided to have) LASIK for many reasons. Your glasses may bother you when playing sports, swimming, or lounging at the beach. Or they get in the way of hobbies like photography.

Maybe you’re tired of eyeglasses sliding down your nose or the constant cleaning and care of eyeglasses or contact lenses. Or having sharp vision 24/7 without eyeglasses could improve your job performance.

No matter the reason, after LASIK, you can look forward to life as you envision it might be without glasses. That includes benefits such as:

• Gaining clear panoramic vision without eyeglass frames blocking the view
• Eliminating special glasses for athletics and work
• Saying goodbye to glasses that fog up at inconvenient moments
• Never needing to update your prescription
• Forgetting about the costs for new eyeglasses when needing a new prescription
• No longer removing eyeglasses before nodding off for a nap or leaning in for a kiss

Even better than the benefits, you can look forward to them lasting a long time. LASIK permanently reshapes the cornea, eliminating the imperfections that cause nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.

But improving your vision with LASIK doesn’t stop other age-related changes in your eyes. For example, the eye’s lenses could change. You could develop cataracts (the lens becomes cloudy) or presbyopia (the lens hardens and loses flexibility).

Getting LASIK surgery now does not interfere with cataract surgery in the future. If presbyopia develops, you may be a good candidate for monovision LASIK, which corrects one eye for distance and the other for reading.

Short-term life after LASIK

Most people experience immediate improvement in their vision after LASIK surgery. But it’s crucial to remember that it takes time for your cornea to heal fully. Caring for your eyes in the days and months after surgery is essential for their health and ensuring optimal results.

Here’s a brief rundown of what to expect:

Post-surgery recovery

Resting your eyes and sleeping as needed is the only thing you should do immediately and for a day after your surgery. This ensures your corneas can heal as rapidly as possible.

Don’t look at screens (smartphone, computer, or TV), keep the lights low, and avoid direct sunlight. Most importantly, don't rub your eyes now and throughout your recovery. Rubbing can damage the cornea and interfere with healing.

First week

You wear eye shields until your follow-up appointment. After we remove the shields, you still wear them while sleeping for at least five days.

Though LASIK instantaneously improves your cornea, it’s natural for your vision to fluctuate as the eyes heal.

We prescribe eye drops and artificial tears to help prevent infections, inflammation, and dry eyes (a common short-term problem after LASIK).

We ask you to wear sunglasses, avoid eye makeup and eye cream, and avoid places where smoke, dust, sand, or other airborne substances could get in your eyes.

Most people return to work within 24 hours, but you should take a break and rest your eyes if they feel tired or strained or start to itch or burn.

First month or two

Most people can return to athletics in the second week after surgery. But you should avoid contact sports for four weeks. By the end of the second month, we may clear you to return to water activities like swimming or using a hot tub.

Remember to protect your eyes from an accidental injury and foreign objects because the cornea is still healing.

Six months to a year

Your new vision should stabilize by 3-6 months, yet the cornea has not completely healed. As a result, you should still be cautious when engaging in activities with a high risk of an eye injury.

Your eyes may still be dry or sensitive to light for the first year. Using lubricating eye drops will help you avoid the discomfort of dry eyes until the problem resolves. 

Learn more about life after LASIK

Call us at Eye Care & Surgery today or click here to schedule a visit and learn more about LASIK. We have offices in New Rochelle, the Bronx, and the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, New York.