It is imperative that you do not rub your eyes after the procedure or allow tap water to enter your eyes for the next 10 days. You must avoid makeup and the contact with any other materials except for the eye drops you will be prescribed. Keep away from a dusty and dirty environment and areas with smoke. This is very important to prevent infection.
The drugs you will be prescribed comprise of antibiotic and cortisone eye drops and artificial tears. Use the eye pads given to you so that you do not rub your eyes in your sleep
On the day of the procedure, it is important that you keep your eyes closed and relax and avoid watching television, reading and using computer. This helps with quick healing.
If you have undergone LASIK, you will have no pain and your vision will clear up considerably by the evening. The next day your quantitative vision will be complete but the quality of your vision will improve over the forthcoming days. Due to the corneal healing it is likely that you will experience normal visual fluctuations, which will be more frequent during the first week and then they will subside.
If you have undergone PRK, the discomfort will last 2-3 days and reference has been made of intense photophobia, intense foreign body sensation, burning, lacrimation, slight swelling of the eyelids and blurred vision. These symptoms subside after the second day and after the third you will not feel anything. Vision is gradually restored, but once the epithelium has healed (day 3), vision improves significantly. The contact lens remains intact for about 7 days and is removed by the doctor. After removal, vision is further improved.
You will be able to return to normal activities the next day, if you have undergone LASIK and after three days with PRK. You can drive once you feel ready.
Your surgeon will recommend both immediate and subsequent postoperative monitoring. Do not forget that a high degree of myopia in particular is associated with disorders of the fundus of the eye and you should therefore undergo fundoscopy once a year.