Common Side Effects of LASIK

For many of our San Diego patients, eye glasses and contact lenses get in the way of their daily lives. Contact lenses can be irritating to the eyes, while both eye glasses and contact lenses can be lost, scratched, and broken easily. Playing sports, swimming, certain careers, and even normal day-to-day activities can be affected by eye glasses and contact lenses. Many of our patients benefit from LASIK, and achieve perfect or near perfect vision without the aid of eye glasses or contact lenses. LASIK is used to correct the vision errors myopia, astigmatism, and hyperopia and has a high success rate. Millions of patients have used LASIK to correct their vision and eliminate their need for eye glasses and contact lenses. The majority of patients choosing LASIK will experience few, if any, side effects.

Common Side Effects of LASIK

At North County Laser Eye Associates, we thoroughly discuss the benefits and risks of LASIK during your surgery consultation. Our LASIK patients commonly experience minimal side effects, and some do not experience any side effects at all. With the many advances made in laser eye surgery technology, LASIK is safer than ever. The most common side effects our San Diego laser eye surgery patients experience are glare, halos, difficulty driving at night, fluctuating vision, dry eyes, and sensitivity to light. Most of these side effects subside within a few days, with some taking up to a few months.

Halos, Glare, and Difficult Driving

Halos and glare are most commonly experienced in times of low light. Halos are the appearance of rings around bright light. Glare is the difficulty of seeing in the presence of bright light such as headlights. Patients with halos and glare may not be able to see clearly enough to drive during periods of low light such as nighttime or in fog. Halos and glare usually disappear within the first month after the LASIK procedure.

Fluctuating Vision

Fluctuating vision is a very common side effect of LASIK. Fortunately, fluctuating vision usually disappears completely a couple of weeks after the LASIK surgery. Fluctuating vision may also be caused by dry eyes.

Dry Eyes

Chronic dry eyes are often made worse by LASIK. For this reason, it is important to let our eye surgeon, Dr. Paul H. Chen, know if you suffer from dry eyes before undergoing LASIK. Most commonly, our patients only experience dry eyes for the first few months after surgery. Some patients describe this as the feeling of sand in the eyes. Dry eyes may cause itchiness, redness, crusting, and blurred vision. A rare side effect of LASIK is severe dry eye syndrome. Severe dry eye syndrome interferes with the production of tears. This causes discomfort, blurry vision, and other visual symptoms.

Sensitivity to Light

Sensitivity to light may be the most common side effect of LASIK. For our San Diego LASIK patients experiencing sensitivity to light, we recommend wearing sunglasses in sunlight and when exposed to bright light. For most, light sensitivity subsides within a few days of the LASIK procedure.

Contact North County Laser Eye Associates Today

To learn more about the many benefits of LASIK and to schedule a consultation, please contact North County Laser Eye Associates today.