I had LASIK done three weeks ago, and I rubbed my eye in my sleep. My eye is sore, and stings with drops. Did I mess up my flap?

Question

My right eye has seemed dryer than my left, and I forgot to put drops in before before bed the night I rubbed my eye for the first time since surgery. I put drops in immediately after waking up. The eye feels sore.

Lee Katzman, MD · Answer

It’s true that you need to be very careful about eye rubbing after surgery, but it’s unlikely that you caused any major damage to the flap 3 weeks out. You would have far more eye pain if the flap sustained any real damage from the rub. That said, any time you think you injure your eye it’s a good idea to get it checked out by your surgeon. You probably caused a small scratch that then made the drops sting upon instillation. These  types of injuries take a day or two for the discomfort to go away but two full weeks for the eye to be fully repaired from it. Make sure you continue preservative-free artificial tears 3-4x per day for the next couple weeks.

I had LASIK done three weeks ago, and I rubbed my eye in my sleep. My eye is sore, and stings with drops. Did I mess up my flap?

Answers (1)

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I had LASIK done three weeks ago, and I rubbed my eye in my sleep. My eye is sore, and stings with drops. Did I mess up my flap?

Answers (1)

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about LASIK

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.