Will I Still Need Eye Exams After LASIK?

You’ve had LASIK and are enjoying the freedom offered by clearer vision—so, do you still need to schedule routine eye exams? The short answer is yes, regular eye exams remain an important part of your overall eye health, even after LASIK.

Sometimes, this answer surprises our Denver LASIK patients. After all, the goal of LASIK is to live a life unburdened—as much as possible—by eyeglasses and contact lenses. If LASIK has reduced or eliminated your dependence on prescription eyewear, why make regular visits to your eye doctor, especially if you no longer need glasses or contact lenses to see clearly?

The reason is simple: When you have your eyes examined by a licensed eye doctor, the comprehensive exam does a lot more than checking whether or not you need glasses or contact lenses. They are also determining whether your eyes are healthy.

Contact Our Denver LASIK Doctors for FREE

If you are considering LASIK in Denver, Colorado Springs, or a nearby area of Colorado, call 20/20 Institute at 303-202-0669 to schedule a free LASIK consultation today. Our licensed, independent ophthalmologist and optometrists offer a range of vision correction solutions for people living in Boulder, Castle Rock, and throughout the state.

What Does LASIK Treat? 

Good vision, with or without eyeglasses or contact lenses, is the result of a healthy visual system. The natural shape of the eye and the eye’s lens also play a role in the clarity of your vision. When your eyes are healthy but you cannot see clearly, the culprit is likely a refractive error.

Refractive errors are disorders resulting from what is essentially a mismatch between the length of the eye and the shape and curvature of the lens in the front part of the eye that focuses light. The result of refractive errors can include things like hazy vision, double vision, difficulty seeing at night, and trouble focusing on close-up work. Eye strain, headaches, and several other issues—including learning difficulties in children—may be caused by refractive errors as well.

Why Are Annual Eye Exams Important After LASIK?

Think of your eye like a camera. Just like a camera with a faulty lens will fail to focus, refractive errors affect your ability to see clearly. Eyeglasses and contact lenses act like add-on lenses for a camera, compensating for the out-of-focus lens by placing a corrective lens over the top. LASIK, on the other hand, reshapes the cornea—the outermost part of the eye—so that your reliance on external lenses is diminished or eliminated.

Sticking with the camera analogy, your eye has many other components—beyond the lens—that contribute to its overall function. Comprehensive eye exams are essential to ensure all of these parts are in good shape. For instance, the retina, which captures focused light (like the internal technology of a camera), can be affected by conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, or even diabetes—sometimes revealing health issues before other symptoms appear. Annual eye exams allow your eye doctor to monitor for these issues and provide swift treatment when issues appear. Treating eye diseases and disorders quickly can help to prevent their acceleration and the eventual threat of vision loss.

As if the early detection of both systemic and vision conditions were not enough, routine eye exams after LASIK can also help prevent or address common issues, such as dry eyes. Even if your eye is functioning well overall, common eye conditions like strain, irritation, and dryness can cause vision problems. With proper diagnosis and treatment—typically obtained during annual eye exams—many of these issues can be treated without difficulty.

Routine Eye Exams vs. LASIK Follow-Up Appointments

After LASIK at 20/20 Institute, you will have a series of follow-up exams. This allows us to see how your recovery is progressing and to address any questions that may have come up. You will have additional follow-up visits, scheduled at regular intervals, for the first year after your procedure. At 20/20 Institute, these visits are included with your procedure and will not come at an additional cost.

LASIK follow-up exams allow our doctors to ensure your vision stabilizes as planned. They also allow us to address common LASIK side effects like dry eye. Even so, follow-up visits are not nearly as comprehensive as routine eye exams.

During your regularly scheduled eye exams after LASIK, your optometrist will evaluate your visual acuity, pupil response, ocular pressure, and general eye health. They will use diagnostic tools to check for early signs of age-related vision disorders, common eye problems, and indications of systemic issues including diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

Just to reiterate: the services provided during routine eye exams are designed to ensure long-term eye health. Follow-up care after LASIK is primarily concerned with how the eyes are adjusting to corneal reshaping.

How Often Should You Have Eye Exams After LASIK?

How often you should have your eyes examined after LASIK depends on factors including your age and your visual health. Most vision insurance plans will cover the cost of annual eye exams, though some suggest you only need them every three to five years before the age of 30. The best way to determine how often you need eye exams is by asking your eye doctor. Chances are they’ll recommend you visit yearly or every other year until you reach your 50s and yearly after that.

Normal changes to visual acuity are unavoidable as we age. While LASIK can help to reduce or eliminate your reliance on eyeglasses and contact lenses, you may need reading glasses more frequently as you grow older. During your free LASIK evaluation with one of our doctors, we can discuss age-related vision changes and how they may interact with your LASIK results.

Steps to Maintain Healthy Vision After LASIK

Routine eye exams after LASIK help to ensure swift detection of common eye diseases and systemic disorders. They are not, however, the only thing needed to maintain healthy vision for years to come. To help keep your vision sharp and your eyes healthy, be sure to:

• Protect Your Eyes from UV Damage. Always wear sunglasses with 100% UV protection when you’re outdoors, even on cloudy days. UV rays increase the risk of developing cataracts.
• Avoid Eye Strain. Work in a well-lit environment and keep your electronic devices adjusted for comfort. If you work on a computer, be sure to follow the 20-20-20 rule to help prevent strain.
• Maintain a Healthy Diet. Diets rich in antioxidants, Omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins A, C, and E can support long-term eye health. Dark leafy greens, lean proteins, and citrus fruits are all excellent for your vision.
• Get Enough Sleep. Adequate sleep allows your eyes to rest and recover, which is essential for maintaining good vision. Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
• Follow Up on Health Conditions. Systemic conditions (diabetes, hypertension, etc) can impact your visual health. Keep an eye on your health and maintain your conditions to reduce the risks they pose to your vision.

Even if you are taking steps to protect your visual health, it’s important to monitor for new symptoms of eye conditions. If a new sensitivity to light, loss of color or contrast, diminished visual acuity, or any other visual disruption occurs, they should be brought to the immediate attention of your eye doctor. It cannot be stressed enough: early detection of eye conditions is essential for their effective treatment.

We Can Answer Your Questions About Eye Exams After LASIK

If you have questions about LASIK, recovery from the procedure, or the results you can expect, contact 20/20 Institute online or call us today to schedule a free LASIK evaluation with one of our experienced eye doctors. We maintain offices in Westminster, LoDo, Englewood, and Colorado Springs. We welcome patients from all areas of Colorado.