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When Is It Ok to Rub Eyes After Lasik?

asked 10 months ago by Just had lasik in Brisbane, australia
Latest answer by Anthony J. Kameen, MD
Question viewed 756 times
Tags: 2 weeks post-op, rubbing

It's only been 2 weeks since LASIK. I have been so careful but last night, I rubbed my right eye while I was half asleep. I woke up straight away and panicked. It was a pretty good rub you would do on a normal unoperated eye. I haven't experienced any changes with my vision tho. I called the clinic and was told it Should be ok if I hadn't experienced blur vision. My next check up is in 2 weeks, and I am very worried that I might wrinkled the flap.

3 answers to When Is It Ok to Rub Eyes After Lasik?

+3

Lasik lasek trauma rubbing

A LASIK flap never fully heals! So if you rub it incredibly hard or get hit, the flap can come back up In LASEK there is no flap, so no matter how hard you rub or get hit, there is no risk of a flap dislocation If the flap dislocates, it has to be repositioned, and often sutured back into place, which is a lot of work After a few days, you can gently rub your eyes after either LASIK or LASEK
Emil Chynn, MD

New York Ophthalmologist

www.ParkAvenueLasek.com

+2

Rubbing the Eye After LASIK or Surgery for Cataracts

Modern surgical methods have allowed surgeons to make much small incisions(in the case of cataracts) and precision created corneal flaps(in the case of LASIK) that make rubbing the eye much less of a threat than in the past. That being said, regarding either procedure, the patient should be careful not to rub or bump the operated eye(s) for about two weeks postop. In my 25 years of doing laser vision correction surgery, and surgery for cataracts, I can count on one hand the number of times... more
Anthony J. Kameen, MD

Baltimore Ophthalmologist

www.kameen.com

+2

Avoid rubbing your eyes after LASIK

Just yesterday, I performed a flaplift for a one day post operative patient who rubbed his eyes following LASIK. In my experience eye rubbing is likely to cause a problem only on the first post op day. After one month following LASIK, the risk of displacing the flap with eye rubbing is very low. However, there is no benefit to rubbing your eyes ever. I would advise that you resist the urge to rub and use tears to lubricate your eyes instead. One of the reasons I like PRK is that there is no... more
Joseph W. King, MD

Vancouver Ophthalmologist

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