No matter what type of laser eye procedure you’re planning, your eyes will need time to recover before returning to your regular day-to-day activities. Driving is no exception — your eyes may be blurry immediately after your surgery, and you may still be drowsy from the sedative, so it is essential to not get behind the wheel right away.
Resuming driving is typically OK 24 hours after LASIK eye surgery. Your first post-operative appointment will be the day following your LASIK. Once your vision has been checked, by your surgeon and deemed to be legal driving vision, you are good to get back behind the wheel. But remember, just because you are legal to drive does not mean your eyes are done healing. To ensure the ongoing recovery process, follow all post-operative instructions, which typically include using prescribed and lubricating eye drops, and refraining from touching or rubbing your eyes. Wearing sunglasses after LASIK is always recommended.
Based on the nature of the surgery, your eyes will need longer to recover after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) surgery than after LASIK surgery. At Providence Eye & Laser Specialists, you will have day one and day five post-op appointments. On day five, PRK patients typically have regained their required legal driving vision. It’s important to plan your surgery date when you can comfortably stay home for a few days.
Your driver’s license may have been issued with restrictions for corrective lenses — in this case, you will need to make a trip to the DMV and change the vision status on your license. You have 30 days to make this change. You may receive a citation if you get pulled over and haven’t updated your vision status with the DMV. It would be beneficial to keep documentation in your vehicle indicating that you had vision correction surgery and what your new vision is.
For any laser eye procedure, make sure a trusted friend or family member is available to drive you to and from your appointment on the day of surgery and the post-operative appointments. Even though you will be enjoying your new vision, your eyes are still healing, and your vision may fluctuate in the days and weeks following your laser eye surgery, so be sure to take all the safety precautions you can. Wear sunglasses and even use protective glasses or eyewear around water.
Schedule a consultation with Dr. Nunnery to discuss the best vision correction options for your unique needs.
