Tips to Take Care of Your Eyes Post-cataract Surgery
Tips to Take Care of Your Eyes Post-cataract Surgery
The Head Medical Officer for Cataract & Trauma at Sankara Eye Hospital in Shimoga, Dr. Mahesha S., provides advice on how to care for eyes following cataract surgery

It is important to take care of your eyes post-cataract surgery to ensure good eye health and eye sight. Typically, you can go home the same day of your surgery after taking some rest. However, in case there are some complications, doctors would advise you to stay on. But this occurrence is not that common and most cataract surgeries are successful.

When you leave hospital after the surgery, you may be advised to have a pad and plastic shield over your treated eye and remove the same a day after surgery. While feeling to your eye is expected to return a few hours after surgery, it is also possible that complete recovery may take a few days. There should be no reason to panic as long as you follow doctor’s advice.

It’s normal to have grittiness, watering, blurred vision, double vision, a red or bloodshot eye post the cataract surgery. But these effects are known to improve within a few days to weeks. In case you need new glasses, you can use them after your eye has completely healed, usually after 2 to 6 weeks.  Contact your eye surgery professional quickly in case you experience:

  • Decreased vision
  • Increased pain and/or redness

DO’s and DON’TS

In the first few weeks after surgery, follow this advice:

DO’S:

  1. Relax for the first 2 to 3 days
  2. Use eye drops as instructed
  3. Use your eye shield at night for at least a week
  4. Bathe or shower yourself as usual
  5. Spend moderate time reading, watching TV and using computer
  6. When washing hair after 3 to 4 days, it is important to wear eye shield
  7. In case you are outdoors, use your shield or sunglasses outdoors
  8. Don’t swim for the first 4 to 6 weeks
  9. Arrange for a care giver until your vision returns, especially if the vision in your other eye is poor.

DON’T’S

  1. Avoid rubbing your eyes.
  2. Ensure soap or shampoo is not allowed to get into your eye
  3. Drive only when doctor says so
  4. Avoid strenuous exercise or housework
  5. Avoid wearing eye make-up for at least 4 weeks
  6. Do not fly until you get a go-ahead from your doctor

Other Pre-cautions After the Cataract Surgery:

  1. Commence your drops the morning after the operation
  2. Use drops only on operated eye
  3. Wash your hands in clean running before using your drops
  4. Continue your eye drops according to instructions from your doctor
  5. Continue any other medications such as eye drops or tablets that you may be using under prescription of Ophthalmologist/Physician.

Care to Be Taken to Clean Your Eye:

  1. Boil water and allow it to cool
  2. Wash your hands
  3. Dip cotton wool or clean gauze in the cool boiled water
  4. Gently wipe from the inside (near your nose) to the outside corner of your eye
  5. Do not wipe inside your eye
  6. Do not wash your eye out with water
  7. Do not press or rub your eye
  8. During the first 2 weeks, you may need to clean your eye twice a day because the drops and the healing process can cause slight stickiness.

In conclusion, it is important to know that cataract surgery has a high success rate in improving your eyesight and enables you to return to normal activity soon. Most people can recover soon if they follow doctor’s advice and not neglect the different steps to be taken to overcome cataract.

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