Immediately after cataract surgery You will need to have a family member or friend with you to take you home. Once you get home, it is recommended that you rest your eyes and nap. Several hours post-surgery, most people are able to watch some television or look at a computer screen for a short period of time.
After the procedure, you will most likely wait in a recovery room until the anesthesia begins to wear off. While you may feel well enough to drive yourself home, we strongly encourage all patients to have a family member or friend drive them home after cataract surgery.
Cataract surgery is outpatient. You do not need to stay overnight in a hospital. However, you will need a friend or family member to take you home. You may need someone to stay with you for a day to help you follow your doctor's instructions.
Plan on taking one to three days off of work to be sure you have enough time to rest, but it is normal to resume most normal activities within a couple of days. Simple diversions like reading, watching TV, writing, and walking are okay to resume as soon as you feel up for it after your eye surgery.
You can read or watch TV right away, but things may look blurry. Most people are able to return to work or their normal routine in 1 to 3 days. After your eye heals, you may still need to wear glasses, especially for reading.
In general, it's safe to do light exercise the first week after cataract surgery. This includes walking and stretching without bending at the waist. By the second week, you can resume moderate-intensity activity. At 4 to 6 weeks, you should be fully healed.
While home, you may be allowed to remove your eye shield, but you should wear it when sleeping for at least a week to prevent eye injury. Full recovery from cataract surgery should be complete in about a month, although it can take up to three months for your eye to be completely healed.
It is best to wait two days after surgery before washing your hair. 4.
You can take a shower or bath 24 hours after your surgery. Do not get water or soap in your eye. Keep your eye closed while you shower. Use a clean washcloth every time and normal tap water to clean secretions from your lashes or the corner of your eye.
Typically, vision is greatly improved immediately after surgery. For driving, the minimal amount of time before you should be OK to drive is 24 hours after the fact, though you are strongly advised to wait for confirmation from your doctor based on your follow-up examination.
Cataract surgery should not affect how you sleep, aside from wearing the protective eye shield to avoid rubbing the eye. Rubbing your eye or even water splashing in your eye can aggravate the chances of infection. You may also want to avoid sleeping on the side of the operated eye for the first 24 hours.
What Happens if You Bend Over After Cataract Surgery? You should not bend over after cataract surgery for at least 2 weeks. Bending over will place pressure on the eye and this may cause unnecessary complications to your eye. The main complication will be a delay in the healing process.
During the day you do not need the shield, but we ask that you do not rub the eye. Once the shield has been removed you are safe to take a shower and wash your hair once you return home from our office on the day after surgery.
After cataract surgery, your eyes are more susceptible to infection and complications. Swimming is a bad idea because water is a place where bacteria can grow. Since your eyes aren't at their best, you're more likely to get an infection from the water.
These include discomfort, bruising and swelling of the eyelid, increased intraocular pressure, and allergic reaction to the steroid or antibiotic drop. These complications are monitored over time following surgery.
This is so that the caretaker can stay with the patient and ensure there are no post-op complications, however rare they may be. Most patients are able to resume driving 24 hours after cataract surgery.
During cataract surgery
You'll be awake during surgery, but you won't be able to see what's happening in your eye. Our ophthalmologists at Beverly Hills Institute of Ophthalmology perform cataract surgery using a state-of-the-art femtosecond laser.
Steroids: Typically, we recommend Prednisolone 4 times daily for the first 2 weeks following routine cataract surgery, then cut back to 2 times daily for the next 2 weeks, then discontinue. Artificial Tears: Immediately following cataract surgery, patients may resume using artificial tears.
We recommend that you avoid any exercise for at least one week after cataract surgery. Any discomfort and tenderness from the surgery will settle within a few days and you can begin with some light to moderate exercise such as walking or stretching.
You may drink clear water up to 3 hours before you are due to arrive at the Eye Surgery Center. You may brush your teeth in the morning before surgery. You may wear your hearing aid or dentures. Bathe or shower the morning of surgery to minimize the chance of infection.
To save time and ease the stress of surgery, we don't ask cataract patients to remove their clothing before surgery. Instead, we instruct them to wear a loose-fitting top so that we can easily attach monitor leads and place a hospital gown on top of their clothes.
The requirement for fasting before surgery was recommended by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), which published updated guidelines in 2011 for patients undergoing general anesthesia to reduce the risk of aspiration pneumonia.
Limit Strenuous Activity
“Positions that put your head below your waist, such as bending over, can also increase eye pressure and should be avoided initially after surgery.”
It is very common to have blurry or unclear vision in the days and sometimes even weeks after cataract removal. Most of the time, this is caused by normal swelling in the eye which occurs as a part of surgery. Patients with larger, denser and/or firmer cataracts are more likely to experience more inflammation.
However, optometrists advise that you avoid alcohol for 1 week after your surgery if possible. This is to ensure that your body's healing process can take full effect and to avoid dehydrating your eyes. Alcohol could also interfere with any drops or medications you are given to use for the first week after surgery.