LASIK eye surgery is a fast, virtually painless procedure that can correct your vision. With this surgery, an eye surgeon uses a laser to reshape the cornea of your eye to permanently correct your vision. Wondering if this eye surgery is right for you? Here are five signs you should consider it.
You Are Nearsighted or Farsighted
Luckily, almost all people fall into this category. LASIK eye surgery can fix both near and far-sighted vision issues as well as astigmatism.
You Wear Glasses or Contacts All the Time
If your vision issues only require you to wear glasses or contacts on occasion, you may not be a candidate for this procedure. For example, if you wear glasses only for reading, you would be better suited to continue doing that. Generally, this surgery is designed to help people who wear corrective lenses all day, every day.
You Are Tired of Wearing Glasses or Contacts
Some people enjoy wearing glasses or contacts, and they don’t feel the need for LASIK eye surgery. However, if you are one of the multitudes of people who are tired of wearing glasses or contacts, you may want to consider this procedure.
For example, you may be a good candidate for LASIK if you hate taking out your contacts at night or if your eyes feel uncomfortable wearing them during the day. Similarly, if you don’t like how your glasses fog up when you enter the Florida humidity, if you feel like your lenses are constantly dirty, or if you are tired of glasses for any other reason, you should also talk with your eye doctor to see if LASIK is an option for you.
You Participate in Contact Sports
People who are active in contact sports such as boxing or wrestling may receive blows to the face. Unfortunately, after LASIK eye surgery, if you get hit in the face, that could potentially damage the flap that your surgeon created to perform the procedure. Due to that risk, you may want to avoid LASIK and consider AST (Advanced Surface Treatment) instead. This procedure leaves the cornea intact but has a longer healing period.
Discuss your options with your eye surgeon so you make the right decision for your visual health.
Your Eyes Are Healthy
Generally, to qualify for LASIK eye surgery, you need to have healthy eyes. If you have a condition where your vision is progressively deteriorating, this procedure may not work for you. Even if you don’t have issues now, if you have a family history of keratoconus, you need to talk with your eye surgeon about that. They can let you know if you should explore other options or continue with your plans to move forward with LASIK.
Similarly, if you suffer from dry eyes or glaucoma, you may also need to avoid LASIK. By having a procedure performed on the surface of the cornea instead, such as AST, you can still have laser vision correction without creating the flap in the cornea that can aggravate these conditions.
If you want to talk more or set up a LASIK eye surgery consultation, contact us today. At New Vision Eye Center, our surgeons provide world class eye care, and we would love to help you correct your vision. Call (772) 257-8700 to schedule a complimentary consultation with David J. O’Brien, MD, our fellowship trained, board certified refractive surgery specialist.