At Illinois Eye Center, we perform LASIK surgeries on Fridays, so that our patients can take the weekend to relax, recover, and can get back to their daily life on Monday. While LASIK recovery is typically a quick process, there are still some after surgery restrictions to keep in mind for a full, safe recovery.
The most common questions our team receives from patients getting LASIK include the following –
What are my restrictions after surgery? What about returning to work? How quickly can I get back to normal activities?
Although the recovery process is typically short, it is very important to follow your eye doctor’s instructions and guidelines to avoid any long-term damage to your eyes.
To start, your doctor will want to discuss your line of work and activities you like to perform. This will help the doctors determine the appropriate plan for you. The doctor will likely tell you that you may resume MOST physical activities the day after surgery, which for our patients, would be on Saturday. However, you must avoid situations that may place you at risk for ocular trauma.
Ocular trauma, or eye trauma, is caused by a direct blow to the eye and is one of the least recognizable causes of vision loss. If you are not careful after your surgery, you can cause trauma to your eye, which can lead to life long eye issues. General restrictions to avoid ocular trauma include:
- No eye rubbing for two months
- No scuba diving, sky diving or mountain climbing for one month
- No swimming, hot tubs or steam rooms for 2-3 weeks
- No golf, tennis or vigorous exercise for 2-3 days
- No commercial airline travel for 24 hours
- No reading, television or computer use for eight hours
While your vision will be improved rather quickly and you may forget you even got LASIK, you need to be sure to abide by these guidelines. This may include activities that require you to avoid for a short period of time.
Following these guidelines will help ensure that you have a safe recovery. And you’ll be happy you did when you have improved, healthy vision for years and years to come.
It is important to note that not all LASIK procedures are the same. Our physicians are board-certified, fellowship-trained ophthalmologists who provide our patients with the best opportunity for safe and effective outcomes. We utilize state-of-the-art technology, a specially designed laser suite, and the highest standard of medical care before and after your procedure.
If you want to learn more about LASIK surgery and see if you are a candidate, call our team for a LASIK consultation at (309) 243-2400 today or sign up for one of our Free LASIK Seminars.