Can I have a glass of wine to celebrate my Laser Eye Surgery?

Recovering from any surgery is an unpleasant experience at the best of times, and an absolute nightmare at the worst. And just to make it that little more unenjoyable, we’re advised to stay away from any alcohol whatsoever. That often means no relaxing glasses of wine, no whisky nightcaps, and definitely not any celebratory champers.

When you can finally get back on the sauce depends on a number of factors including the medications you’re taking, your age, your general health, and crucially, the type of surgical procedure you had.

For example, if you’ve had an appendectomy, one of the more common surgical procedures in which the skin is opened and the appendix removed, your body may have one or several incisions to heal, and therefore a vital need to avoid complications such as infection.

Alcohol or ethanol, an intoxicant found most readily in beer, wine, and liquor significantly increases the risks of contracting a wound infection. It does this by reducing the body’s natural resistance against bacteria and other harmful elements.

Alcohol also has other implications after surgery such as interfering with medications, increasing bleeding due to thinning the blood, and promoting swelling due to dilating the blood vessels.

The good thing is, you don’t have to worry about any of these issues after having Laser Eye Surgery.

We can put this down to two main factors that differentiate Laser Eye Surgery from the majority of other surgical procedures: it is minimally-invasive and it takes only a matter of minutes to perform.

And so, the time it takes the body to recover is much shorter than after a typical surgery. And, you’ll no doubt be pleased to hear, that means you can be back drinking alcohol in as little as 24 hours after the procedure.

As you may have figured, Laser Eye Surgery is far from your average surgical procedure. Whereas after an appendectomy, you won’t be back to your regular routine for weeks or months, most Laser Eye Surgery patients are back to work, exercising, and fully enjoying their new vision in a couple of days.

As such a quick and fuss-free procedure that can produce amazing outcomes, it’s no surprise Laser Eye Surgery has become one of the most popular elective procedures in the world.

But despite its convenience, Laser Eye Surgery is still a complex surgical procedure. Therefore, it should be managed and performed by expert surgeons using the latest and safest technology. That way, you can be assured of only the highest quality treatment, and there’ll be no delays to you getting your celebratory glass of wine!

If you’d like to book a consultation with us or find out more about recovering after the procedure, leave us a comment or give us a call us on 020 7224 1005.

This article has been updated for 2021 to ‘Quick Guide: Laser Eye Surgery and Alcohol’