Recovering from Cataract Surgery
If you are going to have cataract surgery in the near future, you will soon be enjoying clearer vision. After having the surgical process, you will need to follow a few steps to make sure that you are recovering as you should be. Here are some tips to use to make sure your recovery is quick and uneventful so you can soon enjoy your improved vision.
Directly after Surgery
Cataract eye surgery does not take very long to perform, but you will need to be under anesthesia during the process. After the surgery is completed, you will be placed into a recovery room to be monitored for the aftereffects of the anesthesia and to make sure you wake up without any problem. You may feel a bit groggy or woozy upon waking and you will have a mask over your eyes so you will not be able to use your vision right away. Someone will be with you when you wake, instructing you not to open your eyes and to tell you how the surgery went.
Recovering at Home
You will need someone available to drive you home after the surgery is completed. When you get home, rest as much as possible for a day or two after the surgery. You will be instructed upon leaving the surgical facility as to when you will be able to take off the protective eye covering. It will need to be placed back over your eyes any time you want to nap or at nighttime when you go to bed.
At first, your vision may seem blurry and maybe even worse than it was before you went in for surgery. This is normal and it will clear up from a few hours up to a few weeks after the surgery was completed. You may notice that your eyes have a scratchy feeling soon after surgery, as if you have sand in your eyes. This is also another normal reaction to the surgery that will clear up on its own.
Do not scratch or rub at your eyes to try to relieve the sensation. Instead, lie down and rest your eyes with the protective shield over them. The feeling will subside as the days after the surgery go on.
Following Up
Your doctor will most likely want to examine your eyes the day after the surgery was done to make sure that everything is healing properly. Let your doctor know if you feel extreme pain or discomfort. If after a few weeks, you do not feel that your sight is improved, see your doctor for a checkup to make sure the surgery removed all of the cataract material from your eyes.
Make sure to use any eye drops your doctor prescribes on the schedule they tell you to administer them. These are an important part of the healing process from your cataract surgery, so skipping your drops is not recommended.
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