A cataract refers to the clouding of your eye's natural lens. If you develop cataracts, you may experience blurred vision, excessive glare, problems with your night vision, and light sensitivity. Cataracts may also cause colors to appear yellowish and less vibrant, and your vision may be abnormally dim. Your optometrist can increase your eyeglasses prescription, however, this intervention is typically only temporary and is not always effective. Because of this, your eye doctor may recommend eye cataract surgery to remove the opaque lens and replace it with an intraocular lens implant.
Following your surgery, your doctor will give you a sheet detailing the following post-operative instructions to help ensure a speedy recovery.
1. Activity Limitations
While eye cataract surgery is considered a minimally invasive procedure, you will still need to curtail your activities for a couple of weeks or more following your procedure. For example, you will need to refrain from performing strenuous activities such as lifting heavy objects for a couple of weeks. Similarly, vigorous exercise is discouraged during this time period as is exposing yourself to dusty environments, which could irritate your eye, causing excessive tearing, burning, and itching. Performing strenuous activities before your eye is fully healed may result in a rise in your intraocular pressure, which can raise your risk for glaucoma if the eye pressure remains consistently elevated.
2. Home Care Steps
After your intraocular lens implant surgery, your doctor will cover your eye with a protective shield, which you will need to wear while you are sleeping. This is recommended for only the first few days following your eye cataract surgery. You will also need to avoid rubbing or scratching your eye and refrain from wearing eye makeup. Before your doctor discharges you from the outpatient surgical center following your procedure, he or she will give you some prescribed medications.
These medications may include anti-inflammatory eye drops and antibiotics. You should finish the entire prescription of your antibiotics and if you are unable to properly instill your eye drops on your own, ask a family member or friend for help. Your doctor will schedule a post-operative appointment for the next day following your surgery, however, if you have questions or concerns before that, call the office.
If you have cataract surgery, follow your eye doctor's instructions because doing so will help promote healing. After your eye is completely healed, your doctor will perform a vision test to evaluate the improvement in your eyesight, which will likely be significant.
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