in this video we're going to share seven tips for cataract surgery
tips that may not only help you see better after the procedure but also
help reduce your risk of complications that's today's video let's take a look
this video was made possible with support from Avenova, a lab tested and clinically proven lid
and lash solution for everyday use. hello and welcome this is Dr. Allen here from the Doctor
Eye Health show helping me learn all about the eyes vision and finding the best vision products
now today's video is going to be all about tips to help you have the most success with cataract
surgery first going over how you can optimize the ocular surface to improve the accuracy of your
procedure and reduce complications and then we'll also share some tips on understanding lens implant
options and what type of expectations to have for life after cataract surgery tip number one is in
fact dry eye management and that's because before having cataract surgery your eye doctor is going
to have to take many different measurements of the eye in order to have a good accurate prescription
after the procedure and if you're somebody who has dry eye syndrome or some form of ocular
surface disease that can affect the measurements for the procedure and hence affect the outcome in
fact untreated dry eye can even affect how the eye heals and that's exactly why so many eye doctors
do recommend having a thorough dry eye evaluation or at least be getting some form of dry eye
treatment in order to get the ocular surface under control before even having those measurements done
some treatment options that may be recommended are non-preserved artificial tears several times a day
your eye doctor may even prescribe prescription eye drops to help control inflammation on the
surface such as Xiidra, Restasis or Cequa just for some examples or maybe in-office procedures such
as Lipiflow ilux or IPL may be recommended either way if you have any signs or symptoms of dry eye
it's very important to get that under control because that's going to result in better visual
outcomes and reduce your chances of having worse dry eye symptoms after the procedure tip number
two is to control and manage blepharitis blepharitis is the buildup of skin oils
dead skin cells and microorganisms along the eyelid margin which causes eyelid irritation
inflammation redness contributes to dry eye disease and increases the risk of eye infections
now for the management of blepharitis that's where Avenova the sponsor of today's video comes in and
i'm happy to be working with Avenova because it is an eyelid and eyelash solution that is
available without a prescription that i know many leading eye doctors recommend for their patients
to start using before cataract surgery and it's something that i've personally had success with
with cleaning my own eyelids Avenova is an eyelid friendly skin disinfectant known as hypochlorous
acid which kills a broad spectrum of bacteria and can successfully help with chronic eye conditions
such as blepharitis dry eyes Meibomian gland dysfunction and inflammation it's also quick
and easy to apply it just by simply spraying it onto your eyelids or onto a cotton round and then
wiping your eyelids and usually doing this twice a day and it's nice because it doesn't cause any
burning or stinging sensation and again many leading optometrists and ophthalmologists
recommend this product to their patients so don't be surprised if your own eye doctor mentions it
but if you do have other questions or want to know more about Avenova specifically i'll put
additional links to their information below the like button but again cleaning the eyelids and
stabilizing any signs or symptoms of dry eye those are probably the two best ways that you can take
action and help improve that measurements and potential outcomes of your own cataract surgery
and moving on to tip number three is to know your options for cataract surgery now during
the procedure your surgeon will remove a cataract from inside the eye and replace it with a clear
plastic implant and that implant can compensate for any possible glasses prescription that you
may have just for example if you're somebody who typically wears glasses either for farsightedness
or nearsightedness your doctor may be able to compensate for that need for glasses prescription
with that implant inside the eye it's kind of like getting lasik eye surgery in a way you may be less
dependent on glasses after the procedure now just a few of the options that may be available to you
may include first having the eyes both set for seeing things clearly in the distance that means
just walking around seeing things in the distance maybe driving you maybe won't have to be as
reliant on wearing glasses or some other form of correction but unfortunately these plastic lens
implants usually aren't able to flex very well and allow you to see up close so many people
in that case will instead just choose to have reading glasses as needed to see things up close
or maybe be like my father who doesn't really need glasses for distance but spent most of
his life wearing glasses and just chooses to still wear progressive reading glasses
almost all the time so that he can easily be able to read up close when he needs to again that is
just the first option which is to have both eyes set for distance another option which i don't see
many people doing but is that having your eye set for reading up close that's usually best
for somebody who spends a lot of time reading up close throughout the day or maybe on the
computer and then that person would then in turn you need to use glasses more full time for seeing
things in the distance it's kind of backwards but i occasionally do have people request it
not as common but still possibly an option for you sometimes some people will choose to have one eye
set for distance seeing things clearly far away while the other eye is set more for up close which
we call monovision there are people who are very successful with having this type of implant put in
but i feel like it's largely being replaced by the advent of trifocal and multifocal implants which
if you're somebody who has a very active lifestyle or just wants little dependency on having like
reading glasses with you at all times then perhaps having a multifocal implant may be the best option
again just some good options to think about before having cataract surgery that way you have a better
understanding of what your options are going ahead now in fact there are many different lens implants
available depending on what option you want and the technologies are always evolving so definitely
stay tuned for future videos i plan to have where i'll break down these different lens implant
options including their prices because that also plays a factor in there because unfortunately
insurance often doesn't cover specialty lenses such as the multifocal implants usually you have
to pay out of pocket for those but again if you're new here and haven't subscribed
to the channel make sure you do so so that you don't miss those future videos now tip number
four is to know what to expect and this is where having a good conversation with your eye doctor
comes into play because if you have other eye conditions or diseases you want to know about
those and how they may affect your healing and the ultimate visual outcome of the procedure for
example if you are somebody who has diabetes then that may affect your healing after the procedure
so instead of just taking one month to fully heal the eye it may take closer to two or three
diabetes can also cause a swelling in the back of the eye and that's something again your doctor
will have to look for or perhaps if you have age-related macular degeneration in those cases
cataract surgery may still help improve the clarity of your eyesight but if the retina in
the back of the eye is severely damaged then you wouldn't expect your vision to improve that much
even after the procedure or if you have a corneal disease or scarring or take any medications
that may affect the procedure then those all can have an effect on how your eye heals and your
ultimate visual outcome so again having a conversation with your doctor to understand
what your risks are i think it's very important now my last three tips here are just really
practical things to keep in mind right before during and after the cataract procedure number
five is to shake your eye drop medications specifically before having cataract surgery your
eye doctor is likely going to give you several different eye drops to use before the surgery
and then after the surgery and one of those medications is going to be a steroid eye drop
which if you shake that drop beforehand before using it for about 30 seconds or so it should
work a lot better give you a lot more oomph out of that medication tip number six is to wear your eye
shield while going to sleep after the procedure is done your surgeon is likely going to put a shield
or a patch over your eye which is usually removed the next day for a post-operative assessment
but i still think it's best to have some form of an eye shield over your eye for usually the next
week just because if you're sleeping we don't want you to accidentally poke or maybe put pressure
onto that eye because it is still healing but as always ask your eye doctor what they think is best
for you and my final and seventh tip is that after cataract surgery if your eyes become red
painful or you experience worsening vision you need to contact your eye doctor
or eye clinic right away for the first few days immediately following cataract surgery
we normally expect the eyes and the vision to not be perfect it's going to be a little blurry
and maybe the eye will feel a little irritated but afterwards over time that first week we
expect vision to only improve in the eyes to feel better so at any point again if there's redness
pain or the vision's getting worse you want to tell your doctor thankfully cataract surgery is
very successful and complications are rare but if it happens it's something that your doctor
is going to want to catch and treat sooner but hey i hope this video really helps you
out and if you are having cataract surgery soon i wish you nothing but the best success
let us know in the comment section which of these tips was your favorite otherwise thank
you so much for watching again Dr. Allen here keep an eye on it and we'll talk to you soon