Is laser eye surgery painful?

For many people considering having laser eye surgery, one of the first questions they want to know is whether or not laser eye surgery is painful.  Many people are more concerned about this than they are about the laser eye surgery risks or the laser eye surgery cost that is involved in the procedure. With regards to how painful laser eye surgery is, this does depend on which type of procedure you are talking about. ‘Is Lasik eye surgery painful’ is a different answer to ‘is Lasek eye surgery painful’. These 2 procedures (Lasik and Lasek) are slightly different and you can read more about this in a previous blog post I wrote: what-is-the-difference-between-Lasik-and-Lasek.

In terms of the actual procedure itself, there is almost no pain or discomfort involved in either Lasik or Lasek. People often worry about the use of an injection to numb the eyes but there is no injections used at all during the procedure. Instead, the eyes are anaesthetised using eye drops which sting slightly for about 30 seconds or so.

The only other part of the procedure that can be uncomfortable is when the instrument is used to keep the eye lids open to prevent you from blinking. Not everyone finds this uncomfortable and it only tends to be those that resist against it that find it unpleasant. If you can relax, then for most people it is only mildly uncomfortable.

The actual lasering of the eye is not painful at all and most people are not even aware it is happening. All other aspects of the surgery are completely painless as your eyes are completely anaesthetised. It is only after the surgery that there can be some discomfort and this varies depending on if you have had Lasik or Lasek. You can read about this as follows:

Lasik Recovery:

Even once the anaesthetic eye drops have worn off, for most people there is only little discomfort. Following Lasik, people generally experience a mild stinging, itching and dry sensation but this is the worst it gets for most people. The symptoms quickly wear off and most people can return to work and everyday activities 24 – 48 hours after the surgery.

Lasek Recovery:

The symptoms following Lasek are generally of a greater intensity and last for a longer period of time. Some people can be in quite moderate pain after Lasek for which pain killers will help. Symptoms do improve over 24 – 48 hours but most people report some discomfort up to 1 week post surgery. It is for this reason that most people prefer to have Lasik ahead of Lasek surgery.

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