Immediately after LASIK surgery, patients should expect to experience discomfort, tearing and blurry vision. Additionally, there will be some restrictions on the patient’s activities for a period of time after the procedure. Understanding the recovery process will help a patient to avoid making mistakes which can be detrimental to the recovery process or otherwise put the patient at risk.
One of the important restrictions placed on LASIK patients immediately after the surgery is a restriction against driving. Although the patient’s vision may drastically improve within 24 hours, it is unlikely the patient’s vision will be clear enough to allow the patient to drive safely. For this reason, patients are typically required to have another person available to drive them home after the procedure.
Other restrictions placed on the patient immediately after the surgery include rubbing the eyes, participating in non-contact sports, participating in contact sports and swimming or soaking in hot tubs. All of these activities are prohibited immediately after LASIK surgery, but as the healing process continues the patient is able to reintroduce these activities.
