There are a good number of LASIK Los Angeles patients who want to get rid of their dependence on eyeglasses with LASIK surgery. Vision issues, such as farsightedness, nearsightedness, and astigmatism, can be corrected with laser eye surgery in Los Angeles. No matter the LASIK eye surgery cost, LASIK is an effective procedure. However, your eye surgeon will warn you prior to the surgery that it can make your vision blurry immediately afterward, which makes it unsafe to drive straight away.
Typical Patient Questions Before A LASIK Procedure
Prior to a patient’s decision to undergo LASIK surgery, many candidates have questions about what they can or cannot do after the LASIK Los Angeles procedure. They have questions such as:
When can I take a shower?
How soon can I wear makeup?
Will I need glasses?
When can I drive?
When can I go back to work?
Keep on reading down below to get the answers to these questions and more.
How To Prepare For LASIK Surgery?
Once you have booked a date at LASIK Los Angeles procedure, you’ll have to arrange a lift to drop you off at the clinic or travel on public transport. After the surgery has been performed, LASIK eye center Los Angeles surgeons like Doctor Moosa do not recommend going back home alone. If you want to use public transport for your return home, do so with someone accompanying you. The best-case scenario is that someone picks you up after your treatment.
How Soon After LASIK Can I Wear Make-Up?
Eye surgeons recommend you not wear eye makeup after LASIK because it can get into your eye and cause an infection if the makeup is not put on and taken off carefully. Therefore, most LASIK eye doctors will recommend you wait a week after LASIK before putting on eye makeup. Again, it depends on the patient, and some may be ready to put on makeup after a few days, but plan for a week. So, keep that in mind when making your appointment. If for any reason, you have to wear makeup less than a week after a LASIK procedure, it’s probably best to put the surgery on the back burner for a while.
How Soon After LASIK Can I Take A Shower?
You don’t have to skip out on your showers after LASIK. However, you will have to make it a point to make sure you keep your eyes completely closed to stop any shampoo, soap, and water from getting into your eyes. Also, you’ll have to avoid rubbing your eyes when you’re washing your face.
Will I Require Glasses After LASIK?
The short, sweet, and honest answer is, maybe. The main reason why some LASIK patients will have to wear glasses after LASIK is for reading.
As we age, the ciliary muscles in the eye start to lose elasticity. This elasticity is what lets people focus on objects, such as the things they are reading up close. This is known as presbyopia and is usually a part of aging, which is a reason why some people who have never had to hassle with wearing glasses in their life require reading glasses when they get older.
Most of the time, LASIK is carried out to correct distance vision problems and other issues such as refractive errors instead of presbyopia. Nevertheless, the requirement for glasses can lessen if the patient decides to undergo monovision. This procedure corrects one eye for seeing distances, and the other is corrected for seeing near. This is not as adequate for repairing vision, but it helps to relieve the requirement for reading glasses after a LASIK procedure.
When Can I Go Back To Work?
For many patients, about two days off work after a LASIK procedure is the only time they need. Nonetheless, you should remember that you may need up to a week off. Considering that everyone is different, it completely depends on the type of laser eye treatment you have undergone and how quickly you can heal. Your laser eye surgeon will talk to you about this during your free consultation and your first post-op examination.
How Soon After LASIK Can I Drive?
Not everyone’s the same, so everyone’s recovery is going to be different. However, most patients can notice an improvement in their vision within the first 24 hours of their surgery. Throughout that time, any medications would have also subsided. A day after surgery, you’ll be expected to return for a post-operative exam, have your vision tested, and have the eye doctor confirm that your eyes are healing. If your eyes aren’t sufficiently recovered to drive, you’ll only require another day or so to completely heal.
Once Your Eye Doctor Gives You The Okay To Drive
When your LASIK Los Angeles doctor tells you it’s fine to start driving again, there are still a few things you have to keep in mind after surgery.
Some people experience glare, particularly from bright lights, in the weeks after LASIK surgery. As a result of this, you could face some challenges when driving at night when encountering oncoming headlights. That’s why it’s a good idea to be a passenger at night first, to check whether you feel comfortable driving yourself.
Issues with glare usually improve greatly within the first couple of weeks after treatment and carry on improving over the first three months.
Also, you should consider that even though laser eye surgery Los Angeles can significantly enhance your vision, it isn’t a 100% cure, and you may find that you still need your eyeglasses for specific tasks such as driving.
If you’ve still got questions about laser eye surgery, Excel Laser Vision Institute would love to assist you. Book a free, no-obligation consultation with Dr. Ferzaad Moosa to find out if you’re a suitable candidate here.
