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• Remove your lenses right away and call your ophthalmologist if you experience redness, irritation, discomfort, or pain in your eyes, or if you have vision problems.

• Remove your lenses before showering, swimming, or sleeping.

• Avoid getting cosmetics such as creams, lotions, or hair spray on your lenses.

• Talk to your doctor before using any over-the-counter or prescription eyedrops or ointments.

• See your ophthalmologist at least once a year (or as often as he or she recommends) to help prevent or detect possible problems, and ask him or her any questions you may have about using or caring for your contact lenses.

An eye surgeon will examine your eyes and take a personal health history to determine whether you are a good candidate for the procedure. Because some types of contact lenses change the shape of the cornea, your doctor may ask you to stop wearing your lenses several weeks before this initial evaluation. He or she also may ask you to avoid wearing eye makeup, creams, lotions, or perfumes for several days before the surgery to minimize irritation to your eyes.

The procedure takes less than 30 minutes. Surgery can be done on both eyes at the same time (called bilateral simultaneous LASIK). Before surgery you will be given eyedrops to numb the eye, and you may be given an oral sedative to help you relax. The doctor will apply an eye clamp and suction device to the eye, which can cause some discomfort. He or she cuts a tiny flap in the cornea, uses a laser to reshape the targeted corneal tissue, and puts the flap back into position.

Immediately after the surgery, your eyes may burn, itch, and water, and your vision will probably be blurry. The burning and itching can last for a few hours. Your vision may be blurry until your eyes have healed. You may need to wear an eye shield to protect your eyes and to prevent the corneal flaps from dislodging. You may feel tired for a day or so after the surgery. If your eyes feel dry, your doctor will prescribe special eyedrops. Don’t use anything in or around your eyes (especially right after surgery) that has not been approved by your ophthalmologist.

Complications from LASIK surgery include eye inflammation and infection. In people who undergo LASIK in both eyes at the same time, the same complication may occur in each eye. In this case, a doctor may prescribe medicated eyedrops. If any type of material gets beneath the corneal flap, the doctor may have to lift the flap, remove the material, and replace the flap.

Corneal refractive therapy

Corneal refractive therapy (also called orthokeratology or ortho-k) is a nonsurgical procedure that may temporarily lessen nearsightedness and astigmatism. In corneal refractive therapy, a series of rigid, gas-permeable contact lenses is used to gradually reshape (flatten) the cornea (the clear, protective covering at the front of the eye), improving vision. Each lens in the series is worn overnight every night for a period of 2 to 8 weeks, until optimal vision is attained. However, because corneal refractive therapy does not produce permanent results, retainer contact lenses must be worn for several hours every few days (or more often) to maintain the new shape of the cornea. If retainer lenses are not used, the cornea will gradually return to its original shape. Poorly fitting lenses can cause eye discomfort and distorted vision.

Farsightedness

In farsightedness (also called hyperopia), either the eyeball is too short from front to back or there is a weakness in the focusing ability of the cornea and lens. As a result, images of nearby objects can be focused behind the retina and are blurred. Images of distant objects are focused on the retina and are usually seen clearly. Farsightedness is usually congenital (present from birth) and tends to run in families.

Symptoms

The main symptom of farsightedness is blurred vision or eyestrain (aching in the eyes) when viewing nearby objects. However, in younger people, mild farsightedness often produces no noticeable symptoms. In older