Best Sunglasses After Lasik Surgery

Wearing sunglasses after Lasik protects your eyes during the healing period. It reduces the effect of light sensitivity by protecting your eyes from discomforting bright lights.

Light sensitivity is a common side effect of every eye surgery. You will also experience it after Lasik.

During the laser surgery, the eye doctor will cut some nerves within the cornea. Later on, this causes swelling of the corneal tissue and affects how the tear glands and the cornea communicate.

The swelling of the cornea tissue makes patients hypersensitive to light. The tear gland instability causes the eyes to dry out, further exposing the eyes to discomfort from light and other environmental factors (like dust and dirt).

Light sensitivity is pronounced during the first few days after the surgery. Though it becomes more tolerable after a week, it is always discomforting.

To wear sunglasses after Lasik primarily protects your eyes from uncomfortable bright lights. Sunglasses also prevent dust and dirt from getting into the eyes. They also protect the skin around your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays.

To choose the best sunglasses after Lasik, you need to consider the following:

1. Protection
2. Tint
3. Size
4. Fit
5. Style

The most important factor when choosing post-Lasik sunglasses is the protection they offer.

The best sunglasses post-Lasik should:

• Reduce the amount of light entering your eyes
• Block dazzling bright light (glare) from entering your eyes
• Block harmful UV light from entering the eyes.

Darker lenses reduce the amount of light entering the eyes. However, darker lenses don’t mean better protection.

Thankfully, the labels of sunglasses carry the kind of protection they offer. Thus, you should always check the sunglasses labels to ensure they also block UV rays and glare.

Another factor to consider when choosing post-Lasik sunglasses is fit.

Fit matters because sunglasses that fit right are comfortable to wear. Generally, people are more likely to use sunglasses when needed if they are comfortable to wear.

To choose sunglasses that fit right, use the “three-touch rule.” The frame should touch the head at only three points - the nose and the top of each ear.

The bridge of the sunglasses should fit comfortably over your nose without being too loose or tight. Also, the temples (arms) should extend straight back to your ears, fitting securely behind your ears without being too tight.

When sunglasses fit loosely, they tend to slip off the face. Then comes the stress of always needing to push them back in place. On the other hand, when sunglasses fit tightly, they exert pressure on your face. In addition to being uncomfortable, the pressure leaves unsightly marks on the face.

The stress of constantly readjusting loosely fitting sunglasses or the discomfort of tightly fitting sunglasses is a turn-off. This may make you not wear sunglasses anytime when you need to. However, when you get the fit right, your sunglasses will be comfortable to wear, and you’re more likely to wear them.

The purpose of sunglasses when recovering from Lasik is to protect the eyes and the skin around it from bright light and the sun’s UV rays. Thus, the best post-Lasik sunglasses should be big enough to provide sufficient coverage.

The sunglasses should not be too big to become uncomfortable to wear. However, the bigger the sunglasses are, the better.

Bigger post-Lasik sunglasses prevent light from sneaking into your eyes from the top, bottom, or sides.

You may also consider sunglasses with a wraparound design. These glasses have curved lenses that wrap around your temples to prevent light from entering your eyes from the sides.

When choosing sunglasses to help with post-Lasik recovery, style is important.

If you don’t like how the sunglasses look, you may not wear them when you need to. However, when you like the style of your sunglasses, you are more likely to wear your sunglasses. 

True, “function” is more important than style. That is, a pair of sunglasses that offer adequate protection is more important than a stylish pair. However, when choosing sunglasses, you do not have to sacrifice style for functionality. You’ll find a variety of stylish sunglasses offering adequate protection.

The best sunglasses to protect the eyes after Lasik are UV-blocking, polarised, and tinted sunglasses.

UV radiation from the sun causes eye strain and a lot of health problems, including corneal damage. So, a high-quality pair of sunglasses for protection after laser surgery should block all UV light from entering the eyes.

When choosing UV-blocking sunglasses, check for labels like 100% UV protection, blocks UVA/ UVB radiation, or 400NM (UV400). These three labels say the same thing.

UVA and UVB are the two types of UV rays that reach the earth from the sun. So, if sunglasses block UVA and UVB radiation, they offer 100% protection from ultraviolet radiation.

Also, the “400NM” or “UV400” label means the sunglasses block UV wavelengths up to 400NM from entering the eyes. The wavelength of UV radiation is 100 - 400NM, so sunglasses labelled 400NM (or UV400) also provide 100% UV protection.

Glare enters the eye as excessively bright light. Glare reduces visual performance and causes discomfort. So, the right pair of sunglasses for post-Lasik eye protection should block glare.

Polarized sunglasses use a special chemical on the lenses to screen off glare-causing horizontal rays. They allow only vertical rays to pass through, giving clear vision.

Polarized lenses are the best for blocking glare, making them good for post-Lasik eye protection. However, given the importance of UV protection, an even better pair of polarised sunglasses for post-Lasik recovery process is polarized lenses with 100% UV-blocking capability.

Since Lasik patients experience light sensitivity after the surgery, reducing the amount of light entering the eye is important. Tinted glasses reduce the intensity of light that enters the eyes.

The tint “dims” the light entering the light. Dark lenses tend to do better than their light-coloured counterparts in dimming the light entering the eye. Thus, you should opt for dark sunglasses after Lasik.

However, note that the tint does not affect UV-blocking capabilities. Thus, darker lenses do not translate to better UV-blocking.

Not all dark lenses protect the eyes from UV light. In fact, dark glasses without UV-blocking can be more dangerous for the eyes. This is because, in the dark, the pupils dilate to let in more light.

So, when wearing dark sunglasses without UV-blocking, the dark glasses dilate your pupils to let in more harmful UV light. 

Thus, when choosing dark sunglasses, ensure they have 100% UV blocking.

Also, wearing dark sunglasses indoors will make your eyes more sensitive to light. This is because your eyes will adapt to the darker view, and outdoor light will feel too bright or even painful.

Thus, you should wear light-colored lenses indoors. This means buying a few different pairs of sunglasses - one light pair for staying indoors and one dark pair when stepping out.

Consider the light-coloured Hazel Sunglasses and the darker Daze Octagon sunglasses.

Light sensitivity is pronounced in the first few days after laser eye surgery. It becomes more tolerable after about a week. Thus, wearing protective sunglasses is highly recommended for the first week after the surgery.

Wearing your sunglasses becomes less crucial in the later stages of your recovery. However, wearing them is still recommended for a few months after the surgery.

In fact, it is good to make wearing sunglasses a lifelong habit. This is because ultraviolet radiation can degenerate visual health even after recovering from Lasik.

The UV rays can cause vision problems, which includes sunburned eyes, early cataract, macular degeneration, and growth on or near the eyes.

Also, you shouldn’t wear sunglasses to protect your eyes only when it is bright and sunny. You should wear your sunglasses whenever you are outside, even if it is cloudy.

Know that ultraviolet radiation penetrates clouds. So, your eyes will be exposed to ultraviolet radiation even in cloudy weather.

• Lasik is a common laser eye surgery for vision correction.
• Wearing good quality sunglasses when recovering from Lasik has many vision health benefits.
• The sunglasses protect the eyes from bright light and ultraviolet radiation. They also prevent dust and dirt from entering the eyes and protect the delicate skin around the eyes from harmful ultraviolet light.
• When choosing sunglasses for post-Lasik eye protection, consider options that offer adequate protection, provide sufficient coverage, fit properly, and suit your style.
• For quality eye protection post-Lasik, use polarized glasses with 100% UV-blocking capabilities. These sunglasses block all harmful UV light and minimise glare.

Ready to snag quality sunglasses for your vision health post-Lasik and beyond? Visit Kraywoods for the perfect sunglasses.

Kraywoods is the ultimate hub for sunglasses, eyeglasses, and glasses accessories. We are the go-to shop for high-quality, eco-friendly, and affordable glasses.

Check our collection of polarized and UV400 sunglasses, perfect for post-Lasik recovery.