So, you want to get LASIK surgery, but you aren’t certain how long you might need to stay home while you take some time to heal. At the LASIK Orange County clinic like Excel Laser Vision Institute, our surgeons understand that returning to school, work, and everyday activities play a huge role in a person’s life.
A majority of managers and business owners are supportive and even sympathetic when workers ask for time off to improve their vision. Below, our LASIK surgeon in Orange County answers some of your questions about how fast you can expect to go back to your routine.
How Long Should You Stay Home After LASIK Surgery?
Although you will notice that you can see much clearer after leaving our LASIK surgeon in Orange County, it is necessary to have a good, long nap so you give your eyes the rest they require right after LASIK surgery. If you watch television, use a computer or other devices too early after your laser eye surgery procedure, they can cause your eyes to strain. Generally, your eye surgeon would want to have a brief follow-up visit the day after your procedure to make sure you are healing properly.
What Happens During LASIK Eye Surgery Recovery?
Laser eye surgery is a minimally invasive surgery, that after receiving the treatment, besides the improved and glasses or contact lens-free vision, there are no other signs that it ever even occurred.
Many people believe that there is an immense level of pain that you have to endure during eye laser recovery, but that is not the case. You might feel a slight watering and stingy sensation, and there is a feeling that something is right in your eyes for a couple of hours after your eye correction surgery. This is why the LASIK surgeon in Orange County advises their patients to nap as soon as they get home after LASIK surgery to cope with these symptoms.
This mild discomfort is easily managed with eye drops that your eye surgeon will provide for you.
As soon as you wake up, you will place the eye drops in your eyes and maintain this routine for several weeks. By the next day, patients usually feel that their eyes are much clearer, even though they will continue to stabilize for the next three to six months.
How To Get Back To Work During The Recovery Process?
Normally, people expect their surgeons to tell them it can take weeks, months, or even years before they can get back to work. However, laser eye surgery is far from your normal surgery. This is very apparent by the fact that the majority of patients return to work as fast as 24 hours after their treatment.
Relying on factors like specific treatment, the anticipated recovery rate, and if you had a morning, afternoon or evening procedure, many patients take about two days off, which are the day of the surgery and the day after. This is usually the case after LASIK surgery.
Quickly returning to work is usually not a problem for many patients. Nevertheless, when you return to work, there are some things to keep in mind to encourage recovery.
Nowadays, many people work indoors with screens, the primary thing that surgeons tell their patients is to keep their eyes well lubricated with artificial tears; especially if you are using a computer and you are in an air-conditioned environment since both can dry out your eyes. Also, it is good to be aware of the fact that you blink less often when you look at a computer screen.
It is important to take extra care if you work, for instance, on a construction site, where there is a higher risk of dust and debris entering the eye. Wearing safety glasses and taking other appropriate precautions are a good way to avoid this from happening and causing irritation or any needless complications.
On the other hand, if you are one of the fortunate ones to work outside in the sunshine, wearing sunglasses with 100 percent UV protection is essential for the first few weeks of recovery and is usually good eye care advice to follow further on.
How To Get Back In The Driver’s Seat After Laser Eye Surgery?
Since driving and controlling a car is highly reliant on your eyes, many people it will take a while after LASIK until you can get back in the driver’s seat.
However, if you are like a lot of patients, you can drive again in less than 24 to 48 hours after treatment. For a majority of people, this is generally an intense experience as you begin to view driving and being out on the open road with fresh, “new” eyes. Also, it can feel shockingly strange and freeing to be behind the wheel without having to wear your glasses.
The precise time you are back to driving really depends on the treatment you had and the clinic you go to. A majority of patients can legally drive the first day after surgery and is usually the case for 95 percent of patients and treatments except for PRK. It is during the consultation you will have a day after with your eye doctor that he or she will advise you whether or not your vision meets the driving standard and can sign you off.
Once your doctor gives you the ok, you can drive, but for the first few days, it is best to drive short distances and be mindful of things such as starbursts and halos around lights while driving at night.
These side effects are normal and are a normal part of the eye’s recovery process, with many people experiencing them as very mild and many not even observing them at all.
During the first 24 hours after treatment, you should arrange for a friend or family member to drive you home while you take the back seat.
If you have more questions about what an eye surgery recovery process involves, give Excel Laser Vision Institute a call at + (818) 907-8606 to talk to one of our eye surgeons today.
