If you’ve got blurred vision caused by cataracts, it could be time to consider looking into cataract surgery, offered at laser eye surgery perth. Basically, this involves removing the damaged lenses of your eyes and replacing them with artificial ones, and therefore improving your overall vision.
However, recovering from cataract surgery can take some time. It’s therefore important to think about the things you can do to speed up your recovery and reduce the risk of ongoing complications.
In the rest of this article you will find our top 5 tips for ensuring success after cataract surgery. They include:
1. Don’t Drive for At Least a Few Days
The first thing you will be told when you’re preparing for cataract surgery is to make sure that you’ve got someone to drive you home after the procedure. We’d recommend following this advice for at least a few days after you’ve had your cataracts removed. Otherwise, your cataracts might not have time to recover properly.
2. Never Rub Your Eyes!
Although cataract surgery can be uncomfortable, and you might experience irritation and itchiness in the days following, you should always avoid rubbing or scratching the area. Doing so will almost certainly affect the recovery of your eyes, and can lead to difficult complications.
Additionally, excessive scratching and rubbing post surgery can lead to infection, which you want to avoid at all costs. In the worst case scenario, post surgery infections can cause you to lose your sight.
3. Avoid Exposure to Dirt, Pollen and Other Irritants
You will probably find that your eyes are quite sensitive after your cataract surgery, which means that they will be easily irritated by a whole range of things. We always recommend avoiding irritants like dirt, pollen, dust wind. Otherwise, your recovery will probably take longer than it should, and your long term vision could even be affected.
4. Avoid Bending, Lifting and Other Strenuous Activities
It’s also important to avoid potentially damaging activities like bending, lifting or strenuous physical exercise. These can place extra pressure on your already weak eye. In some cases, this will cause bleeding and ongoing complications which you certainly don’t want.
5. Don’t Swim or Expose Your Eye to Other Sources of Infection
Cataract surgery is like any other procedure in the sense that there’s a significant risk of infection if you’re not careful. It’s important to avoid any potential sources of infection, including:
- Swimming in the ocean, freshwater or even treated swimming pools.
- Hot tubs, saunas and any other communal water-based activities.
- Areas of excessive pollution or with high irritant levels.
As you can imagine, this won’t always be easy. However, the short-term inconvenience is definitely worth putting up with.
Ultimately, most people make a full recovery after cataract surgery. However, there are plenty of things that you can do to reduce your chances of ongoing complications. In this article we’ve outlined our top tips for ensuring a full recovery, but it’s always important to speak with your doctor so that you understand exactly what you should and shouldn’t be doing.
