Avoid heaving lifting as it can cause the pressure inside your eyes to increase. This can interfere with healing and cause damage to the eye. Try to avoid strenuous activities over the first seven to ten days. Examples are: heavy gardening, running, hill walking, childcare for young children who require lifting and golf (if carrying heavy clubs or caddy bags). Show
Other activities that raise intraocular pressure include bending below your waist to pick up items or reaching up high. We suggest consciously considering the activities you carry out in the house in the week before cataract surgery. Identify the tasks you do daily that cause you to reach high, bend low or generally strain yourself. It is a good idea to eliminate easily avoidable tasks such as finding the remote control, searching for the phone charger, carrying heavy pots. Locate frequently used (and misplaced) items and leave at waist height for your return from hospital, pre-prepare a meal that can easily be heated, leave the kettle with water in and a cup ready with a tea bag. If you have a dog arrange for a friend to do walks. Your eyes will be sensitive to airborne particles. It is a good idea to vacuum and clean before cataract surgery. This protects your eyes from contaminants such as pet hair, dander, dust, and dirt. It will also help to keep on top of the hoovering after cataract surgery but remember you need to take it easy so best ask your partner, a friend or your children to do it for you. Cataract surgery is an outpatient procedure completed in under an hour. Cataract surgery has a high success rate in improving your eyesight and should allow you to return to your normal activities, like driving, following a few simple weeks of recovery. Your cataract surgery recovery begins immediately following your procedure. At the completion of your cataract surgery, a
lightweight protective shield will be placed over your eye, held in place with surgical tape. This shield will decrease the risk of injury from inadvertently rubbing or accidentally bumping your eye. Most patients are able to go home within a few hours of the procedure. You will be required to have a friend or family member drive you home following surgery. In general, you should be able to watch TV, do some light computer work and shower or bathe within a few hours of returning home
after your procedure. 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. 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. For more information about recovery following cataract surgery, contact Associated Retina Consultants by calling 602-242-4928 or visiting website. by J. E. “Jay” McDonald II, M.D. This month’s eyeCONNECTIONs column profiles two recent discussions on practical issues that ophthalmic surgeons face. In the first discussion, physicians shared their
preferences for using a shield over the eye after cataract surgery. How valuable do you think using a shield is? Read on to see what your colleagues think. The second subject that eyeCONNECT e-mail discussion participants tackle is whether an ICL that is vaulting warrants removal. As always, the discussions provoked thoughtful debate. Is anyone on this list not placing a shield over the eye immediately after cataract surgery? I generally do but instruct my patients to remove it in
order to place their antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops. It is then removed the morning after surgery with instructions to use it for a week only when sleeping. I am considering not placing a shield immediately after surgery but am concerned about the expected high rate of patients who forget to place it over the eye the night of surgery. David Richardson, M.D.
I may be old-fashioned, but I still use the shield. My patients receive IV sedation, and I want to remind them not to rub or touch their eye. I also want something to say “I have had surgery.” We also see our patients same day post-op instead of at one day and continue to have them leave the shield on until the next day. J. E. “Jay” McDonald, M.D. I’m with you, Dr. McDonald. We remove the shield on the first post-op day, and the patient wears it at bedtime for two weeks. Why risk the patient rubbing his eye in his sleep? Anita Nevyas-Wallace,
M.D. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, too. I reason that the shield is there as part of the pack, it’s “free,” and really, do you know two hours later if the wound is truly self-sealing as the hydration wears off (unless you’re a same-day checker)? I like them to wear the shield the first night until I verify a sealed incision and normal IOP the next day. On the other hand, for tape allergies, I skip the shield. Mitchell
Gossman, M.D. I am tarnished by the fact the retinal doctor in my community has had a post-op patient not wearing his shield fall while getting out of bed and strike his eye, essentially losing his eye. This was many years ago but seemed to established a “local standard of care.” I also almost always rub my eyes the first thing when I wake up without thinking about it. I have no problem with those who do not use shields, and it is enticing for me to stop as well. J. E. “Jay” McDonald, M.D. For quite a while now, I have not used shields immediately post-op for cataract surgery patients unless I think they’re going to be big eye rubbers. So far I haven’t had any problems. I think the cataract wound is just as likely to open from a rub as a LASIK flap is to wrinkle with a rub, yet we don’t send LASIK patients out the door with shields on. I like that when the family members come to the post-op area, their relative doesn’t look like they’ve had surgery at all. Of course, we instruct them to put the shields on before sleeping, but I think the microincisional wounds are pretty strong, and even if the eye gets a little rubbed, it shouldn’t cause problems. David A. Goldman, M.D. I do not place a shield after cataract surgery and haven’t done so in 15 years. I’ve never had a problem with it. Steven Safran, M.D. Keeping a close eye on an ICLHere’s what one eyeCONNECT participant wrote: A 28-year-old patient had uneventful ICL surgery three months previously. The lens clearance in the right eye was about 100 to 150 microns; therefore, the next ICL was moved to a larger size, with a better clearance of 350 microns. There is clearly no touch at this juncture. The uncorrected visual acuity in both eyes is 20/20. Slitlamp examination reveals no cataract. On accommodation, the ICL get remarkably close to the human lens in the right eye. Is this a case for early intervention? And here’s how other participants replied: My general rule is to leave them alone with a low vault. I have seen cases 10 years out that are actually resting on the lens, with no cataract. On the other hand, I will carefully follow a high vault and consider taking those out. Stephen
Slade, M.D. I have several ICL patients I am following for at least a year with a vault of less than 100 microns. I spoke with Roberto Zaldivar [M.D., Mendoza, Argentina] about this about a year ago, sharing the concerns expressed on this discussion list. He also counseled simple observation. The interesting (and disturbing) thing is that the several anterior subcapsular cataracts that I have seen with ICLs did not occur in these cases, but rather in what seemed like completely normal, average vault situations. J. Trevor Woodhams, M.D. As long as the vault and the patient do not demonstrate any particular problems, leave it alone. Your observation of the lens during accommodation is interesting. J. E. “Jay” McDonald, M.D. Contact informationGoldman: About the author J.E. “Jay” McDonald II, M.D., is the EyeMail editor. He is director of McDonald Eye Associates, Fayetteville, Ark. Contact him at 479-521-2555
or Read more articlesHow long should I sleep with an eye shield after cataract surgery?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.
Is it OK to sleep on your side after cataract surgery?In addition to wearing your eye shield at night, you will also want to avoid sleeping on the side that has been operated on. By reducing irritation, you can decrease your risk of infection and speed your recovery process. This is why your doctor tells you not to sleep on your side after cataract surgery.
How long does it take for the incision to heal after cataract surgery?Often, complete healing occurs within eight weeks. Contact your doctor immediately if you experience any of the following: Vision loss. Pain that persists despite the use of over-the-counter pain medications.
How long do you wear the ice shield after cataract surgery?Most patients wear it for a day. Wear your eye shield at night or while napping so you don't rub your eye while sleeping. Your doctor will tell you how many nights to do this. For most people it's from 1 to 7 nights.
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How long to wear eye shield at night after cataract surgery
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