The sense of sight is one of the most important senses in the body. Impaired vision, pain in the eyes, and diseases may cause this sensory organ to malfunction, impeding the usual routine of a person. To provide relief and heal the damage in the eyes, people seek the help of an ophthalmologist or, in serious cases, an eye surgeon. Recovery time away from the hospital may vary, and measures must be followed to ensure relief in the soonest time possible and to prevent further damage in the eye region.
If you have undergone eye surgery recently, the following are the dos and don’ts in post-eye-surgery care:
Do:
Protect the eye with protective eyewear:
After your surgery, your eyes will be highly vulnerable to bacterial infections and pain. Sensitivity of the eye region must also be expected due to the reparation of tissues in and near the organ itself. With this in mind, you must protect your eyes at all cost and prevent foreign elements from infiltrating your eye.
To prevent serious infections, make use of eye shields before you go to sleep and before you go to places where dust, smoke, and chemical vapour is present. Placing your eye under the care of an eye shield before you sleep can hinder insects, bacteria, and particles from entering your eye while it heals as you sleep. Eye shields also provide comfort and ease the post-surgery pain.
Direct exposure to sunlight may also cause damage to your eyes due to the presence of ultraviolet rays that may hurt the micro-wounds in your eye. For you to be able to enjoy the great outdoors while you recover, you may wear sunglasses. See to it that your shades have UV protection and can block the excessive heat.
Take note of the doctor’s prescription.
Your doctor will be there to accompany you all throughout your recovery process. They’ll advise you certain about activities that you can and can’t do. More importantly, they’ll hand you a set of prescribed medicines necessary for your post-surgery care. In case you don’t have a regular doctor, click here.
Keep a copy of all the names of the medicines and eye-drops that you’re required to take. Everyday, it will become a part of your routine to take medicine and apply eye-drops, while following the dosage. Keep in mind that the dosage is very essential; missing out on a single dose can slow down your recovery. Usually, doctors also recommend pain relievers; heed the doctor’s advice whenever necessary.
It’ll be helpful if you have someone to assist you after the surgery in taking note and reminding you of the doctor’s advice. Your companion may also help in reporting to the doctor some complications such as loss of vision, nausea, infections, and redness in the affected area.
Rest your eye.
As in a body’s way to recover from fatigue, your eye also needs to take a rest. Provide ample time for your eyes to relax everyday. Despite the slowing down of your daily activities during the recovery period, your eyes also has to take its time to recover. Do ask your doctor about some activities that may help in relaxing the eyes.
Don’t:
Stress yourself out
As much as possible avoid strenuous exercises and tiring routines while your eyes are healing. Activities that necessitate for extreme eye work, such as excessive reading and driving should be avoided.
Likewise, it’s not advisable for you to go back to your work-out routine after the surgery. Lifting heavy objects may put pressure on your eyes and may cause serious pain. Cardiovascular exercises such as jogging, cycling, and sprinting also have the same effect to your sense of sight.
Moreover, ask someone else to do the driving for you in the meantime. Driving requires full capacity of people to look right, left, and in the rear-view mirrors. Patients, like you, may consider this activity very stressful to the eye.
Rub your eyes
Rubbing your eyes may press down the tissue, thus may cause damage to the recovering organ. Worse, rubbing the open wound with unsanitized hands can cause a bacterial infection and can worsen your condition.
Take a show
Taking a bath may seem too relaxing, but not for your eyes. Shampoos and soap during showers may drip from your forehead into your eyes and cause irritation. Likewise, washing your face while your eyes haven’t yet fully recovered may hurt your eyes because of the chemicals present in most facial wash and astringents. Doctors prescribe only a certain span of time, usually only a week, in which you can’t have a shower.
Caring for the eyes can be inconvenient at times, though having eye surgery can be painful if you don’t take care of your eyes. The post-surgery care is a must to help reduce the level of pain you experience. Are you about to have eye surgery?
