You will be informed not to rub the eyes and to keep them closed for the first 20-30 minutes after the treatment. Your eyelids function like a kind of contact lens, smoothing the flap onto the cornea, so that already after a half hour it has stuck on fast like a natural plaster.

The first post treatment control is the next day, where your vision will be assessed and your eyes closely examined in order to make sure the healing process is well underway. This consultation allows us to diagnose and immediately treat any healing process that is not proceeding normally. For example, if your eyes are dry then we can change your post treatment medication if needed.

The post treatment controls normally have the following frequency:

• The day after treatment
• 1 week after treatment
• 1 month after treatment
• 3 months after treatment
• Deviations from the above may be in some cases necessary

It is not unusual in the first 2 to 3 weeks for one to experience a mild fluctuation in vision, which is seen to be normal within the natural healing process. After this time one already becomes a good idea of the final visual outcome. Over 90% of patients now have normal visual levels. There is however a minority of patients who need a little more time to get through this initial stage of the healing process before they attain these levels. This is usually those who had a high level of refractive error treated where the healing process takes a little longer to stabilise. There are a small minority of patients who still have a degree of refractive error left after the healing process is complete. Should they find this visually disturbing, they come into consideration for an enhancement or Re-LASIK treatment in order to correct them inside the –0,50 / +0,50 dioptres zone where this refractive error no longer is noticeable.

One may continue a normal life style after the first couple of days following treatment. Returning to work is not a problem if you work in a relatively normal environment. Those who work in a very dusty or hot environment (eg. Near an industrial furnace) are advised to take the first week off work and to wear protective eye wear when returning to work. Should you be office bound and sit in front of the computer all day, it is important to take regular breaks in order to rest the eyes. When we stare at the computer screen we tend not to blink regularly, resulting in our eyes drying out a little and becoming uncomfortable. Instilling the artificial tear drops on a regular basis is very important, as well as not forgetting to blink regularly. Air conditioned or heated environments as well as ventilation units directed at the eyes can also dry them out and should either be turned down or the frequency of artificial tear drops should be increased. Using a room humidifier is also very good, as well as spending some time outside every day in the fresh air. This invigorates the eyes “bathing” them in high levels of oxygen. One can continue a normal fitness or sport program a few days after the treatment, although we advise you do not play contact sports such as football for a number of weeks. One should also not go swimming or visit a sauna or solarium for the first 2 weeks.

Should you be over 45 years of age and as expected require reading glasses after your treatment, then starting off with a pair of ready-made reading spectacles with a strength from +1,00 to +2,00 dioptres will more than effectively bridge the gap you will need until your prescription has stabilised, allowing you to have a pair of quality reading spectacles tailored to your eyes.