LASIK Is A Good Option For Parents

No question about it, taking care of young kids is easier when you can see well without needing glasses or contact lenses – and this is why family eye care should focus on putting parents’ vision first. If you’re a mom or dad with vision that relies on corrective lenses, you’ve probably run a few emergency scenarios through your head like: What if I woke up with the house on fire and I couldn’t find my glasses? How would I get my children out of the house to safety? The instinct to protect and provide for the safety of their children is one of the main reasons parents consider LASIK to correct their vision.

But safety isn’t the only issue for parents wearing glasses or contacts. Being fed up with smeared and scratched lenses from little sticky fingers grabbing at glasses or bent frames from babies’ almost obsessive need to pull glasses off of mom or dad’s face. Worry over glasses getting knocked off and broken from playing with older kids, whether an organized sport or just roughhousing. Glasses can definitely put a damper on the joys of parenting.

And contacts are no picnic either. Self-care takes a back seat for parents of little ones, which puts contact lens hygiene at risk. The last thing an exhausted parent wants to do once the kids are asleep (finally!) is to deal with taking contact lenses out. Not to mention, the annual cost of contacts (plus cases, solutions, and drops) and glasses (plus prescription sunglasses if you are lucky) can add up to a significant line item in the family budget.

7 Tips about LASIK for parents considering the procedure

For moms or dads who have made the decision to have LASIK, here are seven tips for the day of surgery and the recovery time after LASIK:

1. Have a friend, family member or babysitter come over to take care of the children on the day of your surgery and perhaps spend the night if your children need care during the night.
2. Have your special someone (spouse, significant other, mom, dad, bestie, etc.) drive you to the LASIK center, stay with you during your procedure, drive you home and make sure you rest afterward.
3. You’ll be able to shower the next day and get back to your normal routine but you shouldn’t exercise or do any heavy lifting for at least four days—get the kids to take out the garbage.
4. Let the kids know they need to be careful around you: no pokes in the eye or roughhousing.
5. You won’t be able to take part in any contact sport for one week after surgery or swim for 10 days, so rest on the sidelines during family outings.
6. Remember to take your post-op drops for as long as your surgeon prescribes, usually four days or so.
7. Keep your eyes protected when outdoors on sunny days. Bonus! Have your family help you choose a cool new pair of nonprescription sunglasses.

Now that you are more prepared for what to expect during the procedure and after LASIK you are one step closer to understanding if LASIK is right for you. If you are interested in finding a qualified LASIK surgeon in your area please visit our find an eye doctor page.

The Refractive Surgery Council (RSC) Editorial Advisory Board is comprised of some of the world’s leading refractive surgeons, thought-leaders, and innovators who review and approve our articles, as well as identify and interpret the latest findings in the field of refractive surgery. The Refractive Surgery Council Verified Seal means that every word we share meets the highest standards in the field of refractive surgery.