NEW: Life after Lasik

Unlike wearing glasses, there’s nothing obvious that gives away that you’ve had Laser Eye Surgery. Unless someone knows you beforehand, it can just appear like you’ve had perfect vision all along.

So what happens to these millions of people who simply blend into the background after having Laser Eye Surgery? Are they just going about their normal day-to-day lives?

Does the novelty of clear vision wear off after a few months and nothing really change? Or are they living it up and embracing their new-found visual freedom?

Let’s dive into some of these questions by exploring three of the big areas people experience the most change after having Laser Eye Surgery.

Sports and exercise

Only six hours after the procedure, whilst making myself tea, I glanced across the work surface and realised that I could actually read the newsprint without my glasses, I could not believe it. Life just got better and better, no more searching for lost glasses when shopping, no more embarrassing moments in restaurants. Being able to watch television and seeing detail – but best of all being able to programme the machines in the gym! Thank you so much for giving me back 20/20 vision and for taking 20 years off my life. – Adele N., Fitness Trainer

You always hear how elite athletes, whether it’s LeBron James, Lindsey Vonn, or Tiger Woods, are having Laser Eye Surgery to improve their game. This is great to show the potential of the treatment, but it doesn’t do much for demonstrating how it can benefit the amateur or casual sports person.

For example, take swimming,  Many of us like a good swim, particularly in the summer months (when on holiday, at least). However, swimming can be much less enjoyable and at worst a risky endeavour if you’re a contacts or glasses wearer.

Not only does swimming with blurry vision put you at risk of banging your face on the side of the pool or straying too far from the shore, trying to avoid that by using contact lenses could put you at risk of contracting a serious infection.

It’s for this reason Laser Eye Surgery is an obvious and popular choice for water lovers of all types, from casual swimmers, annual surfers, and sailing enthusiasts, to seasonal wakeboarders, for-fun bodyboarders, and buff beachgoers.

For the general casual exerciser or sportsperson, the gym may be your playing field of choice. And anyone who’s tried to run on the treadmill with glasses or wear their contacts in the weekly warrior death pump class knows that the gym and visual aids just don’t mix.

The fact is, if you have an active lifestyle — whether that be going to the gym, going on skiing or snowboarding holidays, or playing tennis, squash, darts, or Wii fit — contacts and glasses are not the ideal solutions. Even when you’re not wearing them but carrying them in your bag, they pose the risk of being lost, damaged, or simply being annoying.

Laser Eye Surgery does away with all of the hassle of contacts and glasses. A hassle that many people have gotten so used to that they’ve forgotten how many activities they’ve been restricted from engaging in.

The result is that after having the treatment, people can find a new lease of life — doing things like skydiving or scuba diving and activities they never even imagined themselves doing.

Convenience and time

Highly recommend! The treatment has transformed my life – had forgotten how cumbersome life had become wearing glasses – from text messaging to recognising shampoo and conditioner when in the shower!!

Laser Eye Surgery often has the most impact in the little areas of your life you would never even consider, i.e. all the everyday moments that are such a part of your routine they’ve become second nature.

Take not being able to doze off at night or simply have a nap without first properly storing your contacts or glasses. That is, if you don’t want to wake up with a line across your face or with dry, irritated eyes. The benefit of Laser Eye Surgery here is obvious, but the accumulation of time and stress that it takes out of your life is not so obvious.

As opposed to going to sleep, there’s also, of course, waking up. For many, the hassle of having to insert contacts first thing in the morning is enough to opt for Laser Eye Surgery. Likewise, having to find your glasses every time you want to see or read anything. And heaven forbid if you’re on a work trip or staying over at someone’s house and don’t have either of them with you.

Or how about having to make a last-minute visit to the chemist because you’ve just realised you’ve run out of contacts, or need to pay a visit to the opticians because one of your lenses has broken — again. Such regular and impromptu trips are part and parcel of wearing contacts or glasses. And yet, when you have Laser Eye Surgery, you own your vision. And so aside from the day of the treatment and your aftercare checkups, you typically never have to see your surgeon — or any other eye-related person — if you don’t want to, ever again.

The other major inconvenience of rented vision is how it’s affected by the weather, or even conditions of the room you’re in. For some contact wearers, even being in a room that’s overly dry or has the air con blasting is enough to strip every drop of moisture from their eyeballs.

Glasses wearers have an equally as annoying dilemma when faced with any weather that isn’t calm and not overly sunny. Don’t even mention doing things that involve a rapid temperature change like cooking or entering a warm house in the winter.

Although they have their uses, glasses and contacts are not built for modern life. Many people only realise this when they have Laser Eye Surgery — designed in and for the modern era — and all the little inconveniences and stresses become a thing of the past. All the routine things you do every day — sleeping, cooking, travelling, going outside, taking a shower — become once again simple and enjoyable.

Career and professional life

I was doing more than 1,500 cataract surgeries per year and was tired of cleaning my spectacles after nearly each procedure. While attending a course at the London Vision Clinic, Professor Reinstein introduced us to PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision. I was really impressed by the results patients showed on the next day. This was not simple monovision. Flying back home I felt that the decision-making process was over for me. In a couple of months I had surgery at the London Vision Clinic. Now, more than six months after surgery, my vision is great, and I can read a newspaper at 15cm. Obviously, I am very glad I did it! – Dr Teesalu, Ophthalmic Surgeon

If you use your eyes for your job, which, let’s face it, pretty much everyone does, there’s a good chance Laser Eye Surgery is going to make a difference to your professional life. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worth your while having it.

Take, for instance, a carpenter. The treatment may help them with the practical side of their work, such as in making it easier to use safety goggles and improving their vision for the finer parts of the craft. But generally, they may find glasses and contacts are flexible and effective enough for the job.

On the other hand, for someone like Dr Tessalu, an ophthalmic surgeon who’s job literally relies on his vision, not to mention involves peering through various pieces of equipment, the benefits are much more apparent.

Today, there are many people who, like Dr Tessalu, rely on their vision for their work. Take, for instance, the millions of people working at a computer, doing tasks like writing, programming, and emailing, which are heavily visual and are difficult when you have to deal with problems like blurry vision, eye strain, and eye fatigue.

Without good vision, such jobs would be impossible or at the very least a struggle. And yet, many people are working at computers and screens without caring for their eyes properly, and in doing so, putting their vision at risk without even knowing it.

Eye strain, headaches, blurry vision, and dry eyes are all common complaints of prolonged screen use, otherwise known as digital eye strain. However, by having Laser Eye Surgery and improving your work habits, it’s possible to eliminate all of these issues. Hello to being able to watch TV at the end of the day or use your tablet without squinting or using eye drops every five minutes.

There’s also another category of jobs that are difficult if not impossible to perform with glasses. As well as most professional sports, there are many trades including mechanics, doctors, chefs, and physiotherapists that make it tricky to do whilst relying on visual aids. Not to mention careers like the army and piloting that require a certain level of visual acuity to even embark on.

This brings us to our final group: those who choose to have Laser Eye Surgery in order to pursue a particular profession. This doesn’t necessarily mean those who’re going to become a fighter pilot. For instance, it could mean having Laser Eye Surgery to diversify your acting portfolio, become a lifeguard, or appear younger in interviews. Whatever it is, many people have Laser Eye Surgery because it makes them less limited by their biology and freer to live the life they choose.

Find out how Laser Eye Surgery could improve your life by leaving a comment below or booking a consultation today with one of our friendly clinic coordinators.