Laser treatment and dry eyes

Whilst we can sometimes see the life changing effects laser eye surgery can have on a person’s life we are always very cautious who we recommend the procedure to. If you have profound visual difficulties and cannot even get up in the night without spectacles on you will undoubtedly notice the visual improvements. However the improvement in sight is sometimes tinged with discomfort and pain.

95% of LASIK patients have some degree of dryness immediately after the procedure and some go on to develop chronic dry eyes which do not respond to traditional dry eye treatments. Often people find that symptoms gradually improve over 12 months but for those with more serious cases or predisposing factors such as age, female, medications, work environment etc. the symptoms can be life-long.

We see so many LASIK patients in our dry eye clinics that the lasting irritation, pain and discomfort it can cause would certainly put me off the procedure myself. So what can you do if you’ve already had laser eye surgery and are suffering from gritty, sore or irritable eyes?

The good news is there’s a lot that can be done to help. Because your symptoms are caused by disruption to the corneal surface and nerves, the treatment can differ from that of a person suffering from more conventional dry eye problems. Book into our dry eye clinic and we can certainly improve your symptoms and provide relief by tailoring the treatment specifically to your condition.