LASIK is the most commonly performed refractive surgery to correct different levels of vision problems such as near-sightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, cataracts, and more. Though it is mainly suggested when vision situations get severe, lasik eye surgery is also recommended to correct minor sight issues.
Based on records, LASIK surgery provides excellent and lasting results giving people the best vision possible within the first 24 hours. Except the procedure was performed by a quack, you will come back with a satisfactory result.
Meanwhile, getting the best result from LASIK eye surgery is not one-sided. It requires a cooperative effort of the surgeon and patient to have a smooth and comfortable procedure right from start to finish.
Your surgeon knows what he has to do as an expert to conduct a perfect LASIK surgery. Now, it’s apparent that you have some responsibilities to do to have a successful, quick, and painless procedure that provides a lifelong result.
Proper preparation prevents poor performance. So, if you want to enjoy every bit of your LASIK surgery, you’ve got to prepare for the procedure. How are you going to do that? Here are the seven essential things to do to get yourself ready.
The 7 Essential Things To Prepare For A Successful Lasik Procedure
1. Be transparent about your medical history
As the first and essential part of your LASIK consultation, make sure you prepare a record of everything about your medical history. Your doctor must have all your medical details before starting the procedure. That will help him know where to start and what to do to make things easier. Don’t omit, downplay, or fake your medical issues, medication, and allergies. Note that your doctor would work with only the information you provide. So, you would need to give them accurate information to have a balanced view of your situation.
2. Drink enough water
One of the vigorous things to do before undergoing a LASIK procedure is to take as much water as possible. Unless your surgeon asks you to do otherwise, you should take enough water before the procedure begins.
Here’s one of the top reasons. Water helps our body stay active and responsive, essential during and after the procedure. Taking enough water before a LASIK surgery will keep your body hydrated, allowing your eyes to respond to treatment during surgery and heal quickly after the procedure.
More so, being hydrated before a LASIK procedure helps prevent developing symptoms of dry eyes. And for those who already have the symptoms, it prevents them from becoming more severe.
Meanwhile, taking enough water before a LASIK procedure is not limited to drinking. You can increase the quantity of your water intake by eating food and fruits with high water content, such as watermelon, cucumber, strawberries, tomatoes, celery, and cauliflower. You can read about The Most Frequently Asked Questions About LASIK Eye Surgery by clicking here.
3. Avoid caffeine
Caffeine can dehydrate your body (including your eyes), which can be a counterforce to the tip above. Since the goal is to make sure your body remains responsive throughout the procedure, you need to avoid anything substance that can make you dry during the surgery. Not only that, caffeine can make you jittery and deprive your body of the ability to relax and still during the procedure.
4. Avoid alcohol
Of course, no one can give you a strict rule on what and what you should or shouldn’t drink before a LASIK procedure; however, you need to stay away from alcohol intake on the LASIK day. You can read about Eyes – laser eye surgery by visiting https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/eyes-laser-eye-surgery
Alcohol, like caffeine, can make your eyes dehydrated and less responsive to treatment. If you have been seeing dry eyes symptoms before the day of LASIK surgery, you must not take alcohol on the day of LASIK as it can worsen the situation. To crown it all, your doctor would give you some oral sedatives to make your eyes relaxed for the surgery. You wouldn’t want that to mix with alcohol in your system.
5. Stop using eye drops
Sometimes, some medical conditions can make you susceptible to dry eyes if you use eye drops. While it is not a bad idea to use eye drops pending the time you enroll for a LASIK procedure, surgeons recommend that you don’t use them on the LASIK day. If you are using allergy eye drops, make sure you speak with your ophthalmologist to know whether to stop using them long before the day or miss them.
6. Stop wearing contact lenses
Preparing for LASIK eye surgery can be somewhat challenging if you wear contact lenses. You will have to stop using them a few days before the LASIK day. by implication, you will have to stay without a proper vision for some weeks, which may affect a lot of things in your daily activities.
How long you will stay without our contact lenses depends on the material of the lenses. If you wear soft lenses, you may have to stop using them 5 to 7 days before the LASIK day. For toric lenses to correct astigmatism, you will have to stop it about 10 to 14 days before the LASIK day. For other lenses, you will have to meet with your ophthalmologist to discuss how long it would take you to stay without the lenses.
7. Don’t wear makeup or fragrance
LASIK is surgery and should see as such. That might particularly not sound well for women as they like to dress to taste for every outing. That’s not a bad idea, but it can be odd for a LASIK surgery. As a woman, you are not expected to show up with a makeover on your face when going for surgery. The reason is simple. Makeup can interfere with the medications used during the surgery, which might cause severe complications.
Finally
You have to be mentally prepared for your LASIK surgery. You will be awake during the procedure, watching the surgeon as he puts laser into your eyes. Although doctors give patients some sedatives to calm their nerves, many still get nervous when the procedure starts. However, if you have already prepared your mind for the task ahead, there wouldn’t be any complications throughout the entire procedure.