Following cataract surgery, you can go home once you have recovered from the effects of the local anaesthetic (painkilling medication).
Arrange for someone to collect and take you home as you will not be allowed to drive. You may find wearing sunglasses or a hat when you leave hospital helpful because your eye could be sensitive to sunlight.
Also arrange for someone to take care of you for the first 24 hours after surgery. This is because full vision may take up to 2 days to return, though sensation usually returns to the eye within a few hours. Complete healing may take several months.
Follow up
Your ophthalmologist or a nurse will give you eye drops to help the eye heal and prevent infection.
You will be given a 24-hour phone number to call if you have any problems and a date for a follow-up appointment. Most ophthalmologists see the people they have treated one to three weeks after the operation.
Side effects
Side effects of cataract surgery are usually temporary. They include:
- an itchy or sticky eye and blurry vision for a few days after the operation
- your eye may feel gritty for a few days
- your eye may look red for a few days
- a slight ache, which should pass after a few days
- bruising of the eyelid or eye, which will usually heal within a week
Recovering at home
Take it easy for the first two or three days after the operation. Continue to use the eye drops that you have been given as instructed, usually for about a month. New glasses can also usually be prescribed after about a month.
If you experience more than mild pain or loss of vision, or if your eye starts to go red, contact your hospital for advice. Painkillers, such as paracetamol, should ease mild pain.
Activities
In the past, the advice was not to bend after surgery, but this is no longer the case. You can bend, carry shopping, wash your face and hair, and generally carry on with life as normal.
You should:
- try not to touch or rub your eye
- keep soap and shampoo out of your eyes
- do not wear eye make up for one week after surgery
- do not swim for two weeks after surgery
- avoid playing sports where there is a risk that you may get knocked in the eye, such as tennis, for around two weeks
You should be able to read and watch television almost immediately if you have reading glasses, but your vision may be blurry as your healing eye gets used to its new lens. You may have to get new reading glasses.
You can drive again when you can read a number plate 20.5m (67ft) away. You may have to get new glasses to be able to do this.
