All of the maintenance and hassle of wearing glasses or contacts over the years may have finally gotten on your nerves and left you looking for a better solution. One type of procedure your optometrist may have informed you of is called LASIK. How do you know if LASIK is the right answer for you?

Vision Issues

LASIK works best on eye care patients who are nearsighted or have blurry vision due to an astigmatism, which is an irregular curvature of your eye’s cornea. During the LASIK procedure a small slit is made in the flap that covers the eye, then the cornea is reshaped and the flap repositioned. Nearsighted people see immense improvement because of the way their cornea is shaped due to the nearsightedness. Farsighted patients will experience some improvement but usually not to such an exceptional degree.

Health Status

LASIK is recommended for people who are in average to good health. If you have an existing eye disease, or know that you have a history of poor wound healing or problems with Diabetes, LASIK may not be a fitting solution for you.

Continuous Vision Changes

For most patients, the yearly optometrist exam results in less prescription changes as they get older. When you’ve gone for a few visits without a significant change, that may be the right time for LASIK. If you are still experiencing rapid fluctuations in your vision, you should wait. An optometrist typically will not perform LASIK on someone under 18 as they are still experiencing significant changes.

Expense

Though contacts and glasses are a routine expense that you expect if you have vision issues, they are expenses that occur on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis rather than all at once. LASIK can be costly but is not the type of procedure that you’d want done at a bargain basement doctor. Many reputable LASIK doctors will offer financing options, and that is the direction you should investigate rather than deals that seem “cheap.”

Specific Occupations

For a handful of careers, refractive procedures are restricted. For those in a field such as aviation or the military, be very sure that you would be permitted to continue working after a LASIK procedure.

LASIK makes it possible for many patients to wake up with crystal clear vision, without contacts or glasses. If you think LASIK may be a solution for you, talk to your Colorado Springs optometrist today.

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