Same Day At Home. Resume your normal walking, climbing of stairs, avoid strenuous activity and no lifting greater than 20 pounds for the first 7-10 days. Resume any medication you were taking from other doctors as ordered when you get home. Your eye may feel scratchy and itchy.
Strenuous activity and exercise after cataract surgery
For activities like biking, running, tennis, golf and sex, wait one week after your procedure. If you are a swimmer, doctors advise you to wait two weeks before going in the water to minimize your risk of infection and irritation.
How Long After Cataract Surgery Can I Bend Over? Try not to be bend over for at least 2 weeks following cataract surgery. Whilst there are some tasks that require bending, such as putting on shoes or pants, try to avoid bending your back.
However, it's very important that you take it easy and rest for the first two or three days following the operation. During this time, avoid doing strenuous activities, such as housework or exercise after cataract surgery. This will give your eyes the time they need to heal.
How long before you can sleep on your side after cataract surgery? People should try to avoid sleeping on the same side of the operated eye for 1 week. However, if they wear a protective shield securely overnight, their eye should have enough protection, even if they unintentionally end up sleeping on that side.
Patients with a dislocated IOL may experience a decrease or change in vision, diplopia, and/or glare. Additionally, they may report ocular pain or headaches from intermittent angle-closure and/or inflammation. Some patients also report seeing the edge of the IOL.
Cataract surgery has a fast recovery rate with only a few restrictions to contend with. With the day of surgery excepted, no bed rest is required. Most patients can return to normal activities the following day.
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.
Cystoid Macular Edema
CME is the most frequent complication after an uncomplicated cataract surgery. Its peak incidence is about 6 to 8 weeks post-operatively.
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. Still, the healing process needs to run its course and vision may fluctuate slightly for the first few weeks before fully stabilizing.
How long does recovery take? Your eye will feel normal again 24 hours after surgery. However, your sensitivity to light may persist for a few more days. It will take four to six weeks for your eye to fully heal.
1-3 days after the procedure: in the first 24-72 hours following your surgery, you'll likely experience blurry vision or double vision. It's not uncommon for patients to experience aching and tenderness while their eyes begin to heal.
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.
Sleep on your back or on the opposite side of the eye that was operated on to decrease your risk of infection and irritation after surgery. If you turn over in your sleep, your eye shield should help protect your eye from significant damage.
Your lens is held in place by delicate fibers called zonules. If you've had an eye lens replacement for cataract surgery or refractive lens exchange, your intraocular lens implant (IOL) is held in place by a small sac and these thin fibers.
Your eye may look pinkish after cataract surgery and there may even be some bright red localised bruising.
The twinkle in this patient's eye is a result of pseudophakia, with a normal Purkinje 1 (P1) reflex and prominent Purkinje 3 and 4 (P3 and P4) images (reflexes) (Figure 2). Pseudophakia refers to an eye in which the natural lens has been replaced with an implanted artificial intraocular lens (IOL).
Advice on showering and washing your hair after cataract surgery. After cataract surgery, you should wait at least 24 hrs before you can bathe and shower.
Yes, cataract surgery improves your night vision to a larger extent. Night vision improvement will enable you to drive, walk in low lights too.
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.
Some Don'ts: Things to Avoid
Avoiding eating and drinking before your surgery. Don't wear makeup to the surgery appointment, and avoid wearing makeup until your ophthalmologist allows it so that you can better prevent infection. Avoid getting irritants in your eyes.
Cataract surgery and sunglasses
Either way, the surgery has still left your retina vulnerable, and even if you have an IOL with that UV coating, you're still at risk to eye damage due to UV rays. You could even cause your cataracts to return as UV rays are one of the leading causes of cataracts.
You will likely notice that you feel exhausted, especially once you get home after having cataract surgery. This is perfectly normal and you shouldn't try to fight it. Sleeping is a vital part of the healing process, but you will need to be careful.