Is your vision slowly turning cloudy? You could have cataracts. This condition may occur naturally with age, but you don’t have to sit back and watch your eyesight degrade! Turn back the clock with cataract surgery, which replaces your cloudy lens with a permanent, trouble-free artificial lens. You’ll experience near-normal vision after a short cataract surgery recovery time. Hoping to learn more? Here are some cataract surgery post-op care tips you may find helpful.
Immediately After Cataract Surgery
Your recovery begins right away. Immediately following surgery, your eye doctor will place a lightweight protective shield over your eye to decrease the risk of injury. You will also receive dark sunglasses to wear home.
You may feel groggy right after surgery, so take your time in the recovery area. This is a good chance to ask your ophthalmologist questions and schedule follow-up appointments.
Arrange to have someone drive you home from cataract surgery. When you arrive, feel free to remove the eye shield, but be sure to wear it during sleep for the next week.
Some itching, light sensitivity, and minor discomfort are normal during the cataract surgery recovery process. Medicated eye drops should help. Also, avoid rubbing or putting pressure on your treated eye, and contact your ophthalmologist if symptoms persist.
It’s safe to resume light activities immediately after cataract surgery, including watching TV, reading, and walking. You can also bathe or shower like normal, but be careful to keep water out of your eyes.
Continue Healing After Cataract Surgery
Follow-up visits with your eye doctor are important during cataract surgery recovery. The first appointment typically takes place the day after surgery. Expect one or two additional follow-ups in the weeks to come.
A gritty feeling in your eye and light sensitivity may linger, so continue to apply eye drops, wear sunglasses when outdoors, and take care not to touch your eye as it heals. Glare and halo around lights may also persist for a few weeks, which is normal. You should be able to resume your regular activities like driving and going to work within a week.
When to Expect a Full Recovery
While your vision should improve within a day or two, it may continue to fluctuate for a few weeks. Expect to fully recover within two to three months after cataract surgery. By then, your eyes should feel normal, and your vision should be clear and stable.
If you have any residual nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism, glasses should correct these refractive errors. Don’t want to bother with glasses? Consider laser vision correction, such as LASIK, PRK, or SMILE.
The team at Windsor Eye Care & Vision Center has the knowledge and technology to detect and diagnose cataracts. We can then refer you to some of the region’s best eye surgeons at the Eye Center of Northern Colorado. Once your cataract surgery is complete, we’ll help you manage your recovery and get you on the path to fully restored eyesight. Contact us to schedule an appointment at our Windsor, CO, office today.
