January 30, 2014
Cataract surgery recovery is a time when you should be resting and taking it easy, but it doesn’t need to be scary. Typically after a good recovery, the results of the surgery start to benefit you and your vision becomes clear and sharp. Read on below to discover how recovery from cataract surgery goes, and how you can prepare yourself for it.
The Procedure
The actual surgery doesn’t take very long, typically about 10 minutes in total. The recovery right after will be longer, requiring you to rest for at least 30 minutes in a post-op room to recover from the anesthesia.
Be sure to have someone take you home after the surgery since getting home on your own will not be possible – vision will be affected and you will feel slight grogginess from the anesthesia. Your doctor will give you a pair of sunglasses to wear outside since your eyes will be sensitive to light. Your eyes will also have a protective shield to ensure they can heal properly.
Once home, you will probably want to lie down for a few hours minimum to recover. If your surgery was fairly uncomplicated, your doctor may tell you to remove the shield after only a few hours of rest. Be sure to follow your doctor’s instructions to allow your eyes to adjust to the surgery.
After you first remove the shield, your vision will not be proper. You may experience cloudy, blurry, or distorted vision. This is normal and will wear off after about an hour of using your eyes. Your eyes will probably also look red, another common side effect of the surgery – this will usually last a few days.
After a week of taking it easy, you can get back to light daily activities. There are things you should still avoid quite a few weeks after surgery until your vision is completely clear.
- Avoid heavy lifting for a few weeks
- Avoid bending over the first few days to keep pressure off the eye
- Avoid swimming or hot tubs the first week
- Don’t rub your eyes
Of course, also follow the advice of your doctor. Keep in mind that although you may not feel like you just had a major surgery because your body is not affected, you still need to rest to properly recover. Cataract surgery will leave you feeling amazing after recovery – just be sure to recover properly to get there!
