I had alcohol-assisted PRK on 30 April to treat my recurrent corneal erosion (RCE). A few days ago I started noticing that when I wake up, my eye is bloodshot and red, mainly in the bottom half. It doesn't hurt, as I'm careful to crack my eye open slowly and apply drops before fully opening it (cause they're quite dry)
Do I need to go to the doctor to show him this?
After PRK surgery, how long did you continue using eyelid wipes or cleansers, and at what point did you switch to washing your eyelids with regular face wash and tap water?
After PRK surgery, how long did you continue using eyelid wipes or cleansers, and at what point did you switch to washing your eyelids with regular face wash and tap water?
I got alcohol-assisted PRK (+ wavefront) in my left eye as a treatment for recurrent corneal erosion caused by EBMD. I only did my left eye because I wanted to see if it actually cured the issue before touching the other eye. Also, I live alone, so I’m very glad I only did one eye, otherwise I honestly wouldn’t have been able to manage.
Also, a big thank you to everyone on Reddit who has been super helpful in answering my questions. I would have lost my mind without y'all.
Thursday — Day 0 (Surgery Day)
The surgery took place at Clinique Ophtalmologique Lamartine. My surgery was scheduled for 11:15 AM, but I didn’t actually go in until around 1 PM.
The surgery itself was a bit painful. I could feel burning when the doctor poured the alcohol solution onto my eye. My eye also “rejected” the contact lens on the first try, and it hurt a lot when the doctor wiped my eye and reinserted it. During that part, the eye speculum had already been removed, so I had to manually keep my eye open while he worked on it (wtf, I know).
After the surgery, I waited around 20 minutes before the doctor checked my eye and said I was good to go. My eye was burning constantly, watering nonstop, and was very swollen. I booked an Uber home, took paracetamol, and basically suffered through the burning for the rest of the day while applying artificial tears every 15–20 minutes. I couldn’t sleep until nighttime.
Friday — Day 1
Eye burning and watering continued. I think my vision was actually fairly clear, but honestly I barely opened the eye.
Saturday — Day 2
Burning was slightly better.
Sunday — Day 3
The burning was mostly gone, but I developed a weird pain every time I used artificial tears. It was like a sharp twinge, almost as if the bandage contact lens was too small for my eye. Pretty painful.
Monday — Day 4
Definitely felt better overall, but still had mild pain, especially at night before sleeping.
Tuesday — Day 5 (Bandage Contact Lens Removal)
I actually felt great when I woke up. My eye was comfortable all morning until the bandage lens removal appointment.
The doctor removed it with forceps after using anesthetic drops. During the removal, I felt a really sharp pain and literally yelped. My eye immediately started watering.
Once I got home and the anesthetic wore off, the pain became extremely bad. It felt like I had a huge piece of sand stuck in my eye, and every small eye movement hurt. Honestly, it felt worse than any corneal erosion episode I’ve ever had.
That triggered a full mental breakdown/panic attack because I genuinely thought something had gone wrong. My vision also became noticeably worse after the lens removal.
Wednesday — Day 6
Slightly better than Day 5, but still pretty rough. Had another panic attack. Vision was still much worse.
Thursday — Day 7
Pain improved massively and was almost gone, but I started getting a gritty sensation in the eye. Vision remained blurry, like looking through dirty or foggy glass.
Friday — Day 8
The eye felt mostly fine aside from the gritty feeling. By nighttime, it started hurting again like something was stuck in it. I used Hydramed night ointment before sleeping.
Vision was still poor and foggy.
Saturday — Day 9
Woke up with burning and extremely dry eyes. I’m planning to switch from Hydramed ointment to Thealoz Gel because the ointment honestly seems to make the dryness worse for me.
Opening my eye in the morning hurt (burning pain), but it gradually improved during the day. The eye feels really really dry. Still no real improvement in vision.
General Thoughts So Far
Throughout the entire recovery process, I mostly kept my left eye closed and relied entirely on my right eye for everything. I listened to around 3 audiobooks just trying to get through recovery. I also started taking vitamin C (1000mg) and Omega 3 (1280mg from Nordic naturals) a month before surgery.
At this point, I honestly would not recommend this surgery unless it’s absolutely necessary. The recovery is painful, mentally exhausting, and feels like a huge risk to take with your eyes.
I’ll keep updating this post as recovery continues or if I remember additional details. I've attached the data from the laser (SCHWIND) machine.
Let me know in case you have any questions.
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Hi all,
I got my surgery on one eye on Thursday and the doctor told me to remove my bandage contact lens on my own on Sunday. I'm a little scared to do it and am planning to wait one more day just to make sure everything is healed (plus if I do it on Monday and something goes wrong I can go to a doctor).
Did you remove your BCL yourself? Any tips on how to remove it?
Edit: thanks all, I'm going to see the doctor tomorrow so surgery day + 5th day and will ask him to remove the BCL. Will be posting a my PRK experience post soon!