The Eye Clinic4 min read
Cataract surgery itself takes only 10–15 minutes, but people often wonder about the days that follow. Here's what recovery typically looks like.
The first few days
You'll wear a clear shield for the first few hours and use eye drops to help it heal. Vision is often clearer within a day or two, though some blurriness, mild grittiness or a little redness is completely normal at first.
Getting back to normal
Most people are back to everyday activities within days. We'll give you simple do's and don'ts — avoid rubbing the eye, swimming and heavy dust for a couple of weeks — and there's no need to fast or stop your usual medications.
When your vision settles
Vision keeps sharpening over the following weeks, with full healing usually around four to six weeks. Once things settle, your optometrist can update your glasses prescription if you need one.
Your follow-up
We see you the day after surgery and again about a month later, to make sure everything's healing well and your vision is where it should be.
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