Glasses Fogging from Your Mask? LASIK May Provide Relief

Tired of having your glasses fog up because of your mask? LASIK vision correction may be a permanent solution to remove this foggy issue, while also allowing you to experience 20/20 or better vision without glasses or contacts.

Across the country, millions of Americans are wearing masks in public in an effort to follow CDC guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While the mask may make you and those around you safer, if you wear glasses, you likely understand the frustrations of foggy glasses from your warm breath hitting the cooler lenses. It can even be dangerous if you’re driving or trying to walk up the stairs.

So, can LASIK really provide relief?

How Does LASIK Restore Vision So You Don’t Need Glasses?

Glasses Fogging from Your Mask What if you could eliminate the frustrations associated with wearing glasses with a mask by undergoing simple LASIK surgery to repair your vision? Since the procedure was approved by the FDA in 1999, more than 10 million people have undergone the surgery successfully. Each year, more than 700,000 Americans correct their vision with LASIK.

LASIK is an elective surgical procedure that can improve your vision up to 20/20 – or better. The biggest benefit beyond vision improvement is that LASIK patients are able to eliminate wearing glasses completely.

LASIK stands for laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis. There are several variations on this type of vision surgery available today to correct:

Nearsightedness, or myopia, which is when you see close objects clearly but far-off objects are blurry. This occurs when your eyeball is longer or when the cornea, the dome-like clear tissue at the front of the eye, curves too sharply.
Farsightedness, or hyperopia, is the opposite. You see far-away objects more clearly but close-up objects are blurred. In these cases, the eyeball is too short inside or the cornea is flatter than normal.
Astigmatism causes blurred vision both at a distance and close-up. Inside the eye, the cornea may flatten or curve unevenly so when light hits the eye your vision is blurred.

Many times, patients choose glasses or contacts to correct vision. In many cases, one of our skilled surgeons can use a bladeless LASIK procedure to reshape the cornea to correct your vision. During the procedure, your surgeon will measure your eye carefully then use a precise laser to create a thin flap in the cornea and work under the flap to change and correct the curve of your cornea. There are a few variations of this technique in use today, but the benefit of LASIK is that the visual recovery is faster and there is less discomfort than some of the earlier methods of this surgical procedure.

Who Are the Best LASIK Candidates?

Generally, this surgery is best if you have a moderate level of refractive error and no unusual vision or health problems. Some of the conditions that would make you a poor surgical candidate include:

Currently nursing or are pregnant
Dry eyes
Eye disease
Eye injuries or problems with your eyelids
Glaucoma
If you are on certain medications that affect your ability to heal
Large pupils, especially in dim light
Severe nearsightedness
You are an active athlete in contact sports
You are under the age of 21

Your surgeon will speak with you about any underlying health conditions you may have. Certain illnesses, such as diabetes or conditions that affect your immune system may increase the risks of LASIK surgery.

How Much Does LASIK Cost?

The cost of LASIK has gone down over the years as surgical efficiency and technology have improved. Since the type of surgery varies by patient (and even by region), it’s hard to predict final LASIK costs without a thorough examination by a provider.

To find out more about the benefits of LASIK, or to have LASIK pricing from Ocala Eye sent directly to you, click here to review our available LASIK resources.

What is Recovery Like After LASIK?

Glasses Fogging from Your Mask? LASIK May Provide Relief The majority of people who undergo LASIK will have their vision improve for many years, or even decades. Imagine being able to see the clock in the morning without squinting or fumbling for your glasses!

The LASIK procedure takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes for the majority of patients. The patient is awake the entire time. While we use numbing drops, it is to eliminate the need for blinking, but there is no pain involved in the procedure.

After the procedure, you will rest comfortably at our outpatient surgery center. Your doctor will recheck your eyes and then you will go home to rest. You will need a driver as your vision will be blurry right after the surgery. The numbing drops from the procedure will wear off in about 30-minutes. You may feel an itching or slight tingling or your eyes may water. It’s important to not rub your eyes during this time to disrupt the healing process. You will receive eye drops to help keep your eyes comfortable and speed the healing process.

Your eye surgeon will see you again 24- to 48-hours after the LASIK surgery to observe the healing process. With 24-hours after surgery, you will notice your eyesight improving already! Keeping your eyes lubricated with the eye drops we provide is important and this process should continue for a few weeks after your surgery. You may experience an increase in light sensitivity and may need sunglasses. Your doctor may also limit strenuous activities to ensure you’re healing well.

Typically, the healing process lasts up to three months after LASIK surgery. Every person heals at a slightly different rate, so our surgical team will work with you to ensure your eyes are stable and we’ve achieved the level of vision improvement we expected from the procedure.

Say Goodbye to Foggy Glasses with Ocala Eye

Peter J. Polack, M.D., F.A.C.S, is a fellowship-trained refractive surgery specialist. He reports, “LASIK can eliminate the problem of fogged up glasses, while giving patients access to a whole new world of opportunities and activities not limited by uncorrected vision.” He and the team at Ocala Eye are standing by to help you live glasses-free.

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