Lasik and Eye Infection

most eye "infections" are not really infections; redness in the eyes may be caused by a variety of reasons, such as allergies, dryness, irritation from drops, etc

your surgeon will re-examine your eyes to make sure the antibiotics he gave you worked, and that you do not have an infection anymore. a helpful sign for him is the absence of papillae, which are a sign of bacterial infections. assuming this is now negative, he can safely proceed with your LASEK or LASIK

if you still have signs of infection, he will NOT proceed with your surgery, as then you would have an increased chance of a bad infection in your eyes afterwards. then he will just ask you to wait another week or so, as this is elective surgery, anyway

hope this helps!

Emil Chynn, MD, MBA

Personally, I would reschedule the eye surgery in order to give the patient greater peace of mind.  The fact that this is concerning enough to ask the question on a web site suggests that moving the surgery back one or two weeks would likely be preferrable. 

There is no rush to perform LASIK.  It is entirely optional and often considered to be a cosmetic procedure since glasses can achieve good vision as well.

It is likely not a serious infection and will clear up quickly without any long term side effects.

It is important that you not have an eye infection at the time of LASIK surgery.  One part of our preoperative check list is an examination before sedation is given of the eye to ensure that there is no infection present.  If any sign of an infection, we will treat the infection and reschedule surgery.  LASIK is elective and if there is a doubt, the procedure can always be done another day.