Why Summer After Laser Eye Surgery is So Much Better

What comes to mind when you think of summer? The smell of freshly cut grass, the sound of waves crashing, afternoons spent barbecuing with the family or whole evenings outside drinking wine and chatting with friends?

When you’re a glasses or contacts wearer, these images of summer are nothing more than idealistic fantasies. The reality is, your best time of the year is more likely consumed by fighting off allergies and eye problems and dealing with all the inconveniences that come with renting out your vision.

Getting grumpier each and every year about summer used to be an unavoidable part of growing older. But today, as there are now quick and painless treatments that can permanently rid you of glasses and contacts, for many people, it’s a choice. In as little as five minutes, Laser Eye Surgery can once again transform summer into being everything you imagine it to be.

A Summer’s Day Before Laser Eye Surgery

It’s a typical summer’s day, a Saturday in July, and you’ve woke up early to drive South with the family to spend it at the beach.

It was one of the hottest days on record yesterday, though, and as you had a few glasses of wine and fell asleep in your contacts, your eyes are already punishing you. It wouldn’t be so bad but this is the third time it’s happened this month, and you heard somewhere that sleeping in your contacts, along with poor hygiene practice, has been to shown to increase the chances of getting an eye infection by as much as four times.

After changing your contacts, making sure you pack your eye drops, two pairs of glasses, and your contact lens travel kit, you hit the road. You’re beginning to feel the effects of the heat and the two glasses of wine — okay, a bottle —  so you turn on the A/C and blow cool air directly in your face. You feel relief, until you realise they’ve stripped your eyeballs of any little moisture they had left.

The summer climate can wreak havoc on your eyes, particularly as you’re more likely to be exposed to extremes — the harsh sun and warm winds and the dry air conditioning of the car or office. Add that to the fact we generally spend more time outside during the warmer months too, and your eyes can become much more vulnerable to infection.

Several failed attempts to put in eyedrops while driving and a litre of water of later, you finally reach the coast. But as this is England, you’re also by blossoming, green fields that are rich in your favourite eye irritant: pollen.

By this point, the contacts have long been thrown away and your ultra-expensive designer glimmers are out. They’ll certainly help shield some of the pollen from irritating your eyes, but that anxiety has been replaced by a greater fear of scratching or losing your shades. It’s not often you’re at the beach, though, so you decide to leave them on your towel, switch back to disposable contacts, and head down to the sea.

But before you get there, you suddenly remember that swimming in contact lenses also dramatically increases risk of infection. And that losing your vision as a result of a corneal infection from contact lenses is much more common than you think — affecting around six in 100,000 wearers annually.

You decide to grab the suntan lotion and simply appreciate the good weather instead. But, just as you were starting to enjoy yourself and relax, a dollop of cream lands in one eye and you experience a painful stinging sensation that only gets worse when you rub it and introduce sand and sweat into the mix.

Determined not to be beaten, you get rid of the contacts, lay on your back, and cover your face in a clean towel. So much for getting a tan this year, you say, as you listen to the waves and try not to pay attention to your partner and kids enjoying themselves a little too much.

If you can imagine what this day would look like if you had naturally clear vision, then you can imagine what it is like after having Laser Eye Surgery. Not only does the treatment rid people of the woes of contacts and glasses, but for many people, it can make allergies completely disappear, dramatically reduce general sensitivity, and make them much more aware of their eye health and how to look after their vision.

Summer is no longer at the whim of little pieces of plastic or the pollen count, and is now, even if it has never been before, no question your favourite time of the year.