Can You Get Lasik If You Are Pregnant

Lasik Surgery During Pregnancy: Is It Safe Or Not

Is Lasik While Pregnant Possible?

LASIK is perhaps the best known and most commonly performed laser eye surgery to correct vision problems. Youve finally decided to go for a LASIK surgery after months of consideration. The thing is, youre already a few months pregnant. The most obvious question you have in mind is, can I have the surgery safely during my pregnancy?

To answer this question, we need to look at the changes your body goes through during pregnancy. Some of those changes may have some effect on your eyes, which in turn, will determine if youre eligible for LASIK surgery.

LASIK is a popular type of laser refractive surgery aimed at treating nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Like other types of laser eye surgery, the LASIK procedure reshapes the cornea to enable light entering the eye to be properly focused onto the retina. The surgeon takes measurements that tells the laser-guided instrument where to remove corneal tissue to improve your vision.

During LASIK surgery, a thin circular flap is created on the surface of your cornea. This flap is pulled back to expose the inner layers of your cornea that will then be reshaped using a laser. Once your cornea is reshaped, the flap is smoothed back into place, and the surgery is over!

During pregnancy, a number of your hormones all take on important roles. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is the dominant one since it sends signals to all the crucial parts of your body to nurture and protect the developing fetus.

Are There Age Limits For Lasik

In order to ensure that it is the right time for you to get LASIK, you can use the following set of guidelines: Your eyeglass or contact prescription has been stable for at least 12 months. You and your eyes are in good health. You are at least 18 but preferably in your mid-20s or older. You do not have any cloudiness in your eyes or suffer from cataracts, glaucoma, or excessive dry eyes.

Can You Get Lasik While Youre Pregnant

Do you want to have LASIK? Are you thinking about getting pregnant, or are you pregnant now?

When you are considering LASIK, its critical to examine your lifestyle and health conditions. You will also need to go through a routine but thorough candidacy process.

This process will determine if you are a good candidate for LASIK. Your eye doctor will talk with you about the qualifications and if you meet them.

Keep reading to learn if you can get LASIK while youre pregnant.

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When Is It Safe To Get Pregnant After Lasik Eye Surgery

Since LASIK eye surgery isnt recommended during pregnancy, its best to get it before or after pregnancy. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology , while its safe to become pregnant at any time following your laser vison correction procedure, they recommend waiting at least one month post-procedure, at which time you should be fully healed.

The AAO adds that pregnant women should be aware that dry eye is a common side effect of pregnancy as well as LASIK eye surgery.

How Lasik Can Interfere

Can You Have LASIK if Youre Pregnant?

LASIK surgery itself is perfectly safe for women who are trying to become pregnant. However, it is suggested that you wait 2 to 6 months after your LASIK surgery to get pregnant, if possible. There are multiple reasons for this.

The first is that pregnancy hormones can drastically affect eyesight in around 10% of LASIK patients. A common pregnancy symptom is swelling, which is typically noticed in the legs, face, and feet. But your corneas can swell too! As your body starts to retain fluid, your corneas can actually change shape regardless of your LASIK surgery. This can result in vision regression, and may require an additional surgery after pregnancy.

Because of increased hormone production, common LASIK side effects such as dry eye and halos/glare around lights may become exacerbated. The drugs used during LASIK may not be healthy for a developing baby.

Here at Stahl, we believe in taking every precaution. That is why we recommend adding a time buffer of 2 to 6 months between LASIK surgery and pregnancy.

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How Soon After Giving Birth Can You Get Laser Eye Surgery

Once your hormones have settled post partum, you can once again consider getting Laser Eye Surgery. It is recommended that women wait 3-6 months after giving birth or finishing breastfeeding. If you have any other questions about getting Laser Eye Surgery after pregnancy, call to book your free consultation on 1890 301 302.

Is Lasik Safe During Pregnancy

Nope. You should stay away from laser eye surgery such as Lasik while youre pregnant. I advise against corrective eye surgery within six months of pregnancy, through pregnancy and until two months after finishing breastfeeding, says Suzanne Merrill-Nach, MD, a San Diego-based OB/GYN. Why? Because pregnancy can really affect your eyes. Hormone changes can make your eyes itchy, red and sensitive to light. Also, your cornea may swell and theres a decrease in tear production, which makes your eyes dry and uncomfortable. Dry eyes may affect how long it takes you to recover after the procedure. The hormone changes that affect the cornea could compromise the healing and the success rate of laser eye surgery, says Merrill-Nach. I suggest avoiding any elective surgery during pregnancy. Complications such as preterm labor can arise from surgery, so you might want to avoid the risks if you can postpone the procedure.

Plus, you might experience some temporary vision changes when youre pregnant, so its definitely not a good idea to lay out all the money for laser eye surgery until you know what your prescription will be after pregnancy. Same thing goes for glasses and contacts: Its not a good idea to get a new prescription while youre pregnant. Wait it out since your vision will likely change back to normal or close to it a few months after you give birth.

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What Can You Do If You Are Planning A Pregnancy

If you are thinking about getting or are pregnant, make sure to tell your eye doctor. That way, they can help you choose an ideal time to get LASIK.

Waiting until you have finished nursing is essential. If you plan to get pregnant again, you should wait until youre done having children to undergo LASIK.

If you know that your hormones will change, then getting LASIK now is not a good idea. Your eyes need to be stable to ensure desirable results.

Its best to know that you are not going to have any more children before considering LASIK. Then, you can work with your eye doctor to find the ideal time to correct your vision!

Are you interested in learning more about LASIK? Schedule a consultation at Metro Eye Care in Paramus, NJ, and get ready for visual freedom!

Laser Hair Removal Alternatives

What Can You Expect in a LASIK Evaluation? The LASIK Vision Institute

Temporary methods like shaving, waxing, threading, and tweezing are generally considered safe during pregnancy. As your bodys shape and size change, you may need help reaching some areas to remove unwanted hair.

If you decide to get help from an aesthetician or a dermatologist, be sure that the facility is clean and the technician licensed to perform the service you want.

While depilatory creams have historically been considered safe for use during pregnancy, there are no studies to prove that chemicals like barium sulfide powder and thioglycolic acid are absolutely harmless to mothers and babies.

You should also be aware that the

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How Laser Hair Removal Works

A doctor or laser technician aims a beam of light at the region you want to treat. The laser targets the dark pigment in each hair, sending heat down the hair shaft and into the follicle.

If the heat completely destroys the follicle, it wont produce hair again. If the follicle is just damaged, then the hair may grow back, but it will probably be finer and lighter than before.

Whats The Best Age For Lasik

What is the best age to get LASIK?

  • Before 18 years. LASIK is FDA-approved for adults ages 18 and up.
  • Mid-twenties. LASIK doctors require your vision to stabilize before the procedure.
  • Thirties to Forties. The most popular time to get LASIK surgery is between 35 to 40 years old.
  • Fifties and Beyond. A patients eyes will start to change again around the age of 40.

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Learn If Youre A Lasik Surgery Candidate

When youre interested in laser eye surgery in Nashville, TN, Dr. Ming Wang and Dr. Josh Frenkel can evaluate your eye health to determine if youre a candidate for LASIK eye surgery. At Wang Vision Institute, we determine candidacy on a case-by-case basis. To schedule a consultation to discuss LASIK eye surgery, call our eye office today.

How Pregnancy And Nursing Affects Your Vision

Reasons To Not Get LASIK While Pregnant

When a woman becomes pregnant, or is nursing, their bodies undergo significant hormonal changes. These changes can cause a great deal of swelling throughout the body. This includes the eyes!

When you become pregnant, your corneas can swell and change shape. This can make your vision blurry. While for many women this problem stops after pregnancy, for others, it can last until after they stop nursing.

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Can I Get Lasik While Still Breastfeeding

It is recommended that you wait at least three to six months after you have finished breastfeeding to have LASIK. This is because your hormone levels are still elevated while nursing. Elevated hormone levels can affect the corneas shape. It is best to wait until your eyes have stabilized again before having LASIK surgery. Additionally, medications used for LASIK can enter the bloodstream into breastmilk, so it advisable to wait.

How Lasik Surgery Works

LASIK surgery works by changing the shape of your eye. If you have myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism, it means that your cornea is shaped irregularly, causing light to focus improperly onto the retina. This causes blurry vision.

During LASIK surgery, a thin, circular flap is created on the surface of the cornea. This flap is pulled back to expose the inner layers of your cornea for reshaping with a laser. Once your cornea is properly reshaped, the flap is smoothed back into place and the surgery is over!

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I Am Ready To Start A Family Can I Have Lasik Surgery While Pregnant

Because of the changes that your body, including your eyes, goes through during pregnancy, it is not advisable to have LASIK surgery while pregnant. A good refractive surgeon will not perform LASIK surgery on a pregnant patient. When you are pregnant, hormones cause your body to retain fluid. The fluid retained in the cornea changes its shape. During LASIK surgery, a thin flap is created on the surface of the cornea to allow a laser to reshape the cornea. Since pregnancy can cause temporary refraction changes, it is recommended to wait until your eyes have returned to their pre-pregnancy state before having LASIK.Other pregnancy changes include dry eye, seeing halos or glare around bright lights, and decreased intraocular pressure. These effects can complicate LASIK surgery, which is why it is recommended to wait until your eyes have stabilized again.LASIK surgery also requires using medication in the forms of antibiotic eye drops, steroid eye drops, and lubricating eye drops. Although these medications are very safe and are used to provide the best possible outcomes for LASIK surgery, they could have adverse effects on a developing fetus. Developing fetuses are highly sensitive to their environment, and some eye drops can enter the bloodstream. This would not be safe for a developing fetus as well as a nursing baby.

Exposure To Excimer Laser Energy During Lasik

GETTING LASER EYE SURGERY!

During a LASIK procedure, the excimer laser that accomplishes the refractive correction will emit a small amount of Ultraviolet radiation energy. While this is not typically a concern for most patients, the effect of this short exposure has not been tested in pregnant women. In order to avoid potential unknown risks to developing fetus, pregnant or nursing women are always encouraged to avoid such UV exposure.

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How Does Pregnancy Affect Lasik

LASIK is generally not advisable in patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Research has shown that glasses and contact prescriptions often change during pregnancy. Similar changes occur during breastfeeding as well. In some cases, these changes may be temporary but in others they can be permanent.

Is There An Upper Age Limit For Laser Eye Surgery

Upper Age Limit For Laser Eye Surgery: In theory there is no upper age limit to laser eye surgery and providing your eyes are healthy it is perfectly plausible for an 80 year old to have the procedure. However, as we get older the chances of us developing cataracts becomes greater and most people in their 70s have cataracts to some degree.

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Can You Get Lasik While Pregnant

Getting LASIK surgery while pregnant is not advisable, and it could lead to incorrect changes to your corneas, the American Academy of Ophthalmology says. Because the thickness and curvature of your corneas can increase due to hormonal changes in pregnancy, vision correction could be inaccurate. This can cause vision problems once the hormones go back to normal, resulting in the need for additional eye surgery.

âMost eye doctors recommend having laser vision correction either before pregnancy or waiting until after delivery of your baby,â ophthalmologist Gregory Parkhurst, MD, tells WebMD Connect to Care. âWhile these temporary vision fluctuations are rarely considerable , laser vision correction is designed to last you for many years to come, and your doctor will want to treat your baseline, permanent eye prescription, not your slightly altered pregnancy one.â

According to the Preeclampsia Foundation and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, common pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia can cause leaking blood vessels in the eyes and blurred vision, which could complicate eye surgery. The FDA recommends waiting until after pregnancy is over to get LASIK surgery so that your vision becomes more stable.

Can I Get Lasik Surgery If I Have Astigmatism

Can You Get Lasik Surgery While Pregnant?

Yes, LASIK can fix astigmatism. Laser eye surgery can correct up to approximately 6.00 D of astigmatism. If you also have myopia or hyperopia, LASIK may not be able to provide this much correction for astigmatism. A LASIK specialist can provide medical advice as to whether you’re a good candidate for laser eye procedures.

The LASIK procedure is a simple process. The steps include:

  • A topical anesthetic is squeezed into the eye before surgery
  • Using a femtosecond laser to create a small flap in the corneas epithelium
  • A LASIK surgeon then separates the tissue and folds back the thin flap to one side
  • Laser energy is then applied for a few seconds to a minute to reshape the corneal tissue underneath the flap
  • Once completed, the surgeon places the flap back into its original spot for natural healing
  • The reshaping of your cornea corrects your refractive error and allows your eye to bend light correctly. This should improve your visual acuity, eliminating or greatly reducing your blurry vision.

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    Common Medical Complications During Pregnancy

    Pregnant women often complain about vision changes. They also succumb to medical conditions like diabetes and uncontrolled high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia. These complications must be taken care of promptly to avoid any permanent or long-term damage to the eyes. And this is yet another factor that must be considered by both pregnant women and breastfeeding women who are looking to undergo a Lasik treatment soon.

    Is Lasik Eye Surgery Safe When Pregnant Or Breastfeeding

    There are many things women have to avoid or limit while expecting, so you may be wondering if undergoing LASIK eye surgery is safe while pregnant or breastfeeding. But just like pregnant women are told to avoid certain activities, such as soaking in a hot tub or changing a cats litter box, laser eye surgery is one activity that is best and most safely performed before pregnancy or after giving birth. Below, we discuss the reasons why pregnant and breastfeeding women arent advised to have LASIK eye surgery, and when is the best time for postpartum mothers to undergo a vision correction procedure.

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    Lasik Surgery And Pregnancy: Everything You Should Know

    Posted in Uncategorized | July 5, 2018

    The decision to start a family is huge and one that should be made only if it feels right. If you are in the midst of starting your family but have been thinking about getting LASIK, there are some things you should know first. Weve gathered all of the information we think women should know before attempting laser eye surgery while pregnant or nursing.

    How Changes In Hormone Levels During Pregnancy Can Affect Glasses Prescription

    Can I Get Laser Eye Surgery If I’m Breastfeeding | Patient Care | Laser Eye Surgery Northern Ireland

    It is proven that prescription of your glasses or contact lenses may change when youre pregnant or breastfeeding. Factors like fluid retention and the resultant corneal swelling are considered as probable reasons behind it, although the exact mechanism is still unknown. The shape of the corneal tissues determines how light rays are focused on your retinal photoreceptors placed at the back of each eye. In other words, the shape of your corneal tissues plays a crucial role in determining your vision as well as corresponding power requirements.

    The corneal changes during pregnancy potentially may result in significant changes of vision. In this condition, one may even require an updated prescription of glasses or contact lenses. These related hormonal changes continue during breastfeeding hence instability of prescription.

    Once the baby is born, the hormone levels will keep changing. This is the reason why nursing mothers also may experience or suffer from vision changes. These fluctuations in vision may either be for the time being or permanent. Either way, they make laser eye surgery much less predictable. Patients usually require more additional surgical corrections under such conditions.

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