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Dry Eyes after Cateract Surgery?

Posted , 6 users are following.

colleen73335
colleen73335

It has been less than a week since the cateract surgery on one eye but my eye feels so dry and scratchy. I've heard that lots of people need to use eye drops forever to help with dry eyes. I'm interested in other people's opinions. Thx

1 like, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • olivia0103
    olivia0103 colleen73335

    Posted

    Hi Colleen, i have cataract surgery 2 weeks ago. I felt the same. Maybe you can talk to your Doctor about it. He change my eye drops and now i feel better. Hope you get better soon.
  • veepee
    veepee colleen73335

    Posted

    Your doctor should have prescribed eye drops for you. Check with them
    • colleen73335
      colleen73335 veepee

      Posted

      I got 3 different drops I have to use and one I use when needed. I guess I'm more concerned about needing drops in the long term

    • veepee
      veepee colleen73335

      Posted

      I was given 3 types of drops to use before and after surgery.

      I was prescribed Restasis after the lasik (YAG). Got about 9 months supply. I guess if you have dry eyes that would be a forever thing, but to be honest I really don't know.

    • at201
      at201 colleen73335

      Posted

      As one gets older, there is more and more chance of a person developing the dry eye symptoms. The cataract surgery, the LASIK treatment or any other procedure which requires a cut in the cornea affects the nerves in the cornea which control the blinking process and thus may cause reduction in tear production.

      The usual practice after surgery is to prescribe 3 eye drops for limited no of days / weeks (these are antibiotic, NSAID, and steroid drops) to ensure that the healing process go smoothly. In addition, use of eye tear / lubricant drops is strongly suggested to keep the eye comfortable. Feeling of scratchiness in the eye is quite common and is usually resolved by the use of eye tear / lubricant drops.

      There are various types of eye drops available and while there are some better ones, one is not the best one for everyone and thus may need trial and error to find the best one.

      Although it is obviously bothersome to have to use any eye drops 3 to 4 times a day for ever, I will rather do that than have another surgery done to treat dry eyes.

      A final side note. One may have dry eyes even though one feels no scratchiness. In that case, if the vision is not as good as it should be, it may be worth using the eye tear / lubricant drops 3 or 4 times a day to see if you feel an improvement in your vision (a few minutes wait is suggested after putting in the drops in the eye before doing any vision test). This is because a good tear layer in the eye is essential to have a smooth corneal surface for the eye to look through.

  • Sue.An
    Sue.An colleen73335

    Posted

    Colleen - one additional thing you could try is flax seed oil in pill form. It does help in long run with dry eye.
  • liz12234
    liz12234 colleen73335

    Posted

    I had cateract surgery and had to go back next day for another Op because i had a dropped nucleus (every surgeons nightmare i read) My eye was very itchy but i just gently stroked it and found it relieved it considerably. I only put my drops in for ab 3days yes 3 days as they gave me considerable pain, i had to go back several times and they said i was doing fine never noticed ab the drops. of course i kept it as clean as possible. I hope you get relief soon.
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