How Long After Lasik Can I Rub My Eyes (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 2 Weeks

Rubbing eyes is not a healthy habit because rubbing the eyes could damage the cornea. However, most people feel that itchiness as soon as they have had some kind of eye treatment but they should refrain from eye rubbing for at least two weeks or more than that.

Not only eye rubbing after a Lasik is harmful but one should not rub their eyes even if they do not opt for a Lasik surgery. The treatment (Lasik) could only last for about 15-20 minutes but your eye will be in recovery for several days and there should be some precautions that you should take while you are recovering.

How Long After Lasik Can I Rub My Eyes?

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Lasik surgery is one of the fastest and safest eye surgeries in the world. However, the recovery period could vary from one person to another and during this period one should be able to take care of their eyes so that the eyes recover sooner.

Either before or after Lasik surgery, you should ask about the things that you could do and things you cannot do post-surgery. Soon after the surgery, you will be sent home wearing a pair of goggles for the safety of your eyes.

Protection is necessary for the next couple of weeks because if you do not take care of yourself properly there could be a chance of an infection. During your recovery period, the flap in your cornea will slowly begin to close which is the natural healing process of your body.

So, this means you cannot touch or rub your eyes for the next couple of weeks. If you rub or touch your eyes vigorously then the flap could become displaced and there could be complications arising because of it.

This complication is quite rare but it is one thing that you should be careful about by taking proper after-care treatment. You can slowly (with light pressure) use your thumb to rub your eyes for the first few days and after spending the first month taking care of your eyes you can then rub your eyes normally.

Why Does It Take That Long After Lasik To Rub Eyes?

You should not touch or rub your eyes right after you had Lasik surgery but you can gently rub them for the first few weeks. Your eyes would be in their recovery stage and you do not want to disturb your eyes from healing because there could be several complications arising.

Most of the complications that could occur are rare and they are easily treatable but to be on the safer side it is always a better option not to touch or rub your eyes for the first two weeks. This could hamper the recovery stage and therefore it would take much longer for your eyes to recover after the surgery.

One thing that you should keep in mind is that you should always wear safety goggles after the Lasik surgery. The day you come home after your surgery you should take the day off and take a rest. Your eyes will be slightly red in color after Lasik which is normal and keep visiting your doctor so that he can monitor your recovery progress.

One thing that you should not do after Lasik treatment is that you should not drive for at least 24 hours after the treatment. Do not read a book, or watch television for the first 24 hours. Keep exercising for the whole week and always keep yourself hydrated during your recovery.

Conclusion

In the end, you have to recover from it as soon as possible and for that to happen you have to take care of yourself properly. Even after one month when your eyes have recovered completely do make a few more visits with your doctor so that there are no infections or any other complications arising.

It is always better to contact your doctor if you feel some amount of discomfort after the surgery. Take the help of someone in your house if you want to travel somewhere on an emergency basis or else there is no need to move outside.

References

1. https://journals.healio.com/doi/full/10.3928/1081-597X-20051101-15
2. https://journals.healio.com/doi/abs/10.3928/1081597X-20100212-02