Avoid water getting in your eyes

You should avoid getting tap water in your eyes for the first week after your laser eye surgery. This is because water can contain particular bacteria and parasites which pose a risk to your eye health. In the first few days after eye surgery, your eyes can be a little more vulnerable to infection, so it’s important to protect them during this time. You should also avoid getting any soap or shampoo in your eyes as this is likely to cause discomfort and potentially affect the healing process. Try to have baths rather than showers, or to adjust the shower head to angle from the neck down only.

Do not rub your eyes

Rubbing your eyes while they heal from laser eye surgery can be very disruptive. If you’ve had LASIK treatment, whereby a flap is made in your cornea, rubbing your eye can actually dislodge the flap and cause it to lift. This is likely to be painful and will affect your vision, and will also require an emergency appointment to replace the flap. If you feel any itchiness or irritation that makes you want to rub your eyes, you can try administering eye drops instead to provide relief. At night, we recommend that you wear eye shields for the first week to prevent you from rubbing or knocking your eyes in your sleep.

Following an eye drops routine

Before you leave the clinic after your surgery and head home to recover, you will be given a selection of eye drops to use. These will keep your eyes hydrated and help them to heal. One of the main side effects of laser eye surgery, especially during the first few days, can be dry eyes. Making sure your eyes are hydrated with drops is essential in ensuring good healing and comfort, as well as helping to minimise the effects of dry eyes.

Avoid looking at digital screens

One of the most important elements of laser eye surgery recovery is to avoid digital screens for one day after Lasik surgery .In today’s society, it can be difficult to spend a few hours away from screens, particularly when smart phones are such an integral part of communication. However, in the first few hours after laser eye surgery, your eyes are likely to be especially light sensitive. You might find it easier to spend time away from screens and rest in a dark room with your eyes closed. Lots of our patients say that they listen to podcasts, music or simply nap in order to allow their eyes to heal.

Avoid dusty environments

Dust particles could lead to an infection and disrupt the healing process and, coupled with that, you really shouldn’t rub or rinse your eyes after laser treatment. To avoid this type of scenario, we tell all our patients to avoid dusty environments for the week after their surgery. This can apply to building sites and even underground transport systems which typically have huge amounts of dust in the air.