What eye drops do you recommend following lasik? How long after the procedure will I need them?
Dr. Holzman’s post surgical drop schedule for his patients is to use an antibiotic eye drop, an anti-inflammatory eye drop, and a steroid eye drop for the first week to two weeks after surgery. He also has his patients use a preservative free artificial tear to prevent dryness. There are other things Dr. Holzman asks of his patients post operatively – that you do your best to control your environment for anything that can potentially dry your eyes such as turning off your ceiling fans, turning air vents away from you while in the car. Another post operative request is that you put a sticker on your computer monitor that reminds you to BLINK! We do not realize how often we stare at our computer screens for a considerable amount of time with limited amounts of blinking. Sounds a bit silly but it does really work to make you blink and lubricate your eye.
As you are healing you will be tapered off all of the medicated drops by your doctor. After this initial two weeks, preservative free tears are recommended to all patients for dryness. Dr. Holzman even goes the extra step for his patient preoperatively and has them use an ointment called Muro 128 ointment. This is to help prep patients eyes for any dry spots prior to having their procedure. Check out Dr. Holzman’s article about Muro 128 to find out more. Basically, Dr. Holzman wants to do whatever he can to ensure the best results possible for every patient.
