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Recovery of Cataract surgery

You can go home as soon as you’ve recovered from the operation. You won’t be able to drive home from the hospital and it’s a good idea to have somebody with you for the first 24 hours after the operation in case you experience any pain or other symptoms. This is particularly important if your vision isn’t very good in the eye that hasn’t been treated.

Your sight should clear within a few hours after the operation and improve quickly over the next week or two. Following surgery, the area around your eye will probably be swollen – your doctor or surgeon will give you anti-inflammatory eye drops to treat this. You may also need antibiotic eye drops or ointment to put on your eye for a few weeks to prevent infection (although infection is quite rare following cataract surgery). 

You will probably have a follow up appointment with your surgeon about one week after the operation. Your surgeon will also give you advice about how long to use eye drops for and when you can start driving again. You will be prescribed glasses around four weeks following surgery.

In general, following cataract surgery you should:

• take it easy for the first two or three days after the operation;
• be careful when moving around because it can be difficult to judge distances with one eye covered;
• try not to touch or rub your eye;
• take care if it is windy, in case anything blows in your eye, although you don't need to stay indoors;
• keep soap and shampoo out of the eyes (you may want to avoid washing your hair for the first few days);
• avoid heavy lifting for the first few weeks after the operation. This can increase the pressure in the eye and cause the scar to take longer to heal;
• contact your doctor if you have pain, loss of vision or increasing redness in the eye;
• you may find you are sensitive to bright light after the operation – try wearing  sunglasses or a shaded hat to keep the sun out of your eyes.

If you experience pain, unusual discharge from the eye, or a sudden change in your vision, you should contact the hospital straight away.

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