How quickly do you recover from Laser Eye Surgery?

If you’re looking for the fastest and most effective way to improve your vision, then you’ve come to the right place.

Granted, having Laser Eye Surgery may seem not as quick a solution as popping on a pair of glasses or contact lenses. But if you add up the amount of time in your life you have spent (and will spend) searching for your glasses, faffing with contacts, or visiting your opticians, then it’s clear to see which comes out on top.

Even in the surgery world, Laser Eye Surgery is unparalleled in its ability to produce incredibly effective and lasting results in such a short period of time. The moment you lay down on the operating bed at the clinic to the moment you can once again play football, roll around in the grass with the kids, and generally enjoy your normal routine, is a matter of hours and days, not weeks and months.

The Laser Eye Surgery recovery timeline

So just exactly how quick can you expect to recover from Laser Eye Surgery? Well, the exact time depends on factors such as treatment type, age, health, and personal recovery. However, we can provide a good estimate based on the experiences of patients at our clinic and around the world.

Below is our recovery timeline for patients who undergo LASIK surgery. Use it to find out how quickly you’ll be able to return to your normal routine and engage in certain activities.

First 24 Hours after surgery

You’ll be advised to rest and keep your eyes closed for the first few hours after the procedure. Following this brief period, you can return to light activity in the home. It’s important to avoid rubbing your eyes and doing any activity that could lead to eye strain or something touching or poking your eyes. For these reasons, we recommended baths instead of showers, and not staring at a screen for extended periods of time.

The following day patients tend to return to work (after their one day post-operative visit). However, your eyes are still in the early stages of recovery, so it is still important to take extra care i.e. avoid dusty environments and avoid letting them dry out. Lubricating eye drops are provided to help manage this.

48 Hours after surgery

By this time, your cornea will have have done the majority of its healing. Day-to-day activities such as showering and wearing make-up are once again acceptable.

Day 3 activities

Around day three you can introduce exercise back into your routine. Activities that don’t affect your eyes like stationary cycling, lifting light weights, and using the treadmill, are once again acceptable. Swimming, racquet sports, and most active and team sports are still off the cards.

Week 2 activities

In week two, life starts to look like it was before the surgery — only with much greater clarity. Activities like tennis, squash and badminton are allowed (with appropriate eye protection), along with football, sailing, mountain biking, skiing, and snorkelling. It’s recommended to wait at least one month after having LASIK until you return to high-impact sports such as martial arts, boxing, and water-skiing.

If you would like to book a consultation at London Vision Clinic or would like to know more about the recovery process, give us a call on 020 7224 1005.

For 2017, we have updated this article to ‘Quick guide: Laser Eye Surgery recovery’