Laser eye surgery has grown exponentially in recent years to where it is virtually a given when a patient has eye problems. This incredible surgery has given back sight to many people who otherwise would be relegated to contacts, glasses, or even partial blindness. Still, like with any surgery, laser eye surgery does have the potential for side effects. Some of these side effects are short lived, and some can be long term. Though the risk is well worth the reward to many, it is still a good idea to know the potential side effects of laser eye surgery before having it done.

When you first get out of laser eye surgery, you can expect some vision symptoms for the first several days. These symptoms can be alarming if you are not aware that they are a normal part of laser eye surgery. There is often mild discomfort in the eyes, that is more irritating that painful. Your eyes are likely to tear up much more than usual. Often, your vision will be a bit blurry in the first few days as well. This does not mean that the surgery did not work, and is a normal side effect of laser eye surgery in the beginning. Sometimes, the whites of the eyes will develop red or pink spots. What would normally be bright light before the surgery will seem much brighter after surgery.

The above side effects of laser eye surgery are all considered temporary side effects, and should go away in the first several days. If they linger, and continue to give you problems, you should tell your doctor immediately.

The long term side effects are somewhat rare in relation to the number of surgeries that are performed each year. Some people lose all or partial vision after having laser eye surgery, but this is the extreme end of the spectrum. Other long term side effects of laser eye surgery include high glare, problems seeing in low contrast, and double vision. These symptoms can be very debilitating to the laser eye surgery patient, especially at night when their is less contrast. While certainly these are serious symptoms, they are also fairly rare in laser eye surgery.

A more common long term side effect of laser eye surgery is dry eyes. This is when your eyes have trouble keeping moist enough, and dry, itchy, watery eyes are the result. This can be treated effectively most of the time with eye drops and medicines.

Laser eye surgery side effects are fairly rare in the long term, and most situations that arise can be dealt with quickly and efficiently. Like with all medical procedures, it really depends on a number of external factors such as the age of the patient, and their general health status. On the whole, however, laser eye surgery is a huge asset to our medical community, and eye patients around the world.

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