Seawater is full of active and inert organisms that would be
of no positive value if they were to permeate a
cornea compromised by
refractive surgery. All refractive surgery techniques including
conventional or
wavefront
Lasik,
All-Laser Lasik,
PRK,
LASEK,
Epi-Lasik,
NearVision CK, and
RLE will require protection from such contaminated environments
for a period of time. Swimming, skiing, scuba diving, surfing, even
sailing can all contaminate the eyes. Swimming pools, although chlorinated,
can cause problems with eyes healing from refractive surgery too.
PRK, LASEK, and Epi-Lasik disrupt the
epithelial layer of the cornea, making it more susceptible to
infection. For these types of refractive surgery, staying out of
seawater for at least 4 weeks or as otherwise instructed by your
doctor would be wise.
Conventional or custom
wavefront
Lasik and
All-Laser Lasik have a flap of corneal tissue that is less disruptive
to the epithelium, but creates an interface where foreign particles
may lodge. The outer edge of the Lasik flap seals within about 2-3
weeks.
Lens based procedures such as
RLE and
P-IOL require incisions through the cornea into the eye and
are significantly more susceptible to problems than the surface
ablation techniques of PRK, LASEK, and Epi-Lasik, or the flap techniques
of Lasik and All-Laser Lasik. For this reason, seawater exposure
should probably be limited for at least 8-12 weeks.
Although
CK uses a probe to enter the cornea, the likelihood of organisms
being able to breach this tiny hole after 2 weeks is very small,
so waiting about that amount of time would seem reasonable.
In all cases, any sort of postoperative problem may require significantly
more time away from seawater or similar environments. Before putting
your eyes in anything that is not sterile, consult your doctor.
Wavefront or conventional
ablation will make no difference regarding how long one must
be out of seawater or chlorinated pools. That means that you need
to be out of seawater and pool water just as long if you have wavefront
or if you have conventional ablation.
If you are ready to choose a doctor to be evaluated for conventional
or custom
wavefront
Lasik,
All-Laser Lasik,
PRK,
LASEK,
Epi-Lasik,
NearVision CK,
RLE, or any
refractive surgery procedure, we highly recommend you consider
a doctor who has been evaluated and certified by the USAEyes
nonprofit organization. Locate a USAEyes Evaluated & Certified
Lasik Laser Eye Surgery Doctor.
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