Do You Need LASIK Vision Correction?

Not everyone who wants LASIK vision correction to remove their dependence on refractive glasses or contact lenses, is necessarily a good candidate to have the surgery.

You should consider a few things:

• If you are not a risk-taker, you probably shouldn’t correct your vision through this method.

There are possibilities of complications as a result of the procedure that you should research before having the procedure done. Some of these complications may cause permanent, irresversible damage.

• If having LASIK vision correction could affect your career or is not covered by your insurance you should think of another alternative. While cost of LASIK is getting cheaper, but is still considered quite expensive.

• You must be an "adult with refractive stability" to be accepted for LASIK eye surgery or vision correction. Refractive instability is determined by patients who are 20 or younger with fluctuating hormones due to such things as diabetes or someone who is pregnant or breastfeeding or taking medications that cause fluctuation in vision.

• If you regularly engage in contact sports or suffer from a condition or disease may affect wound healing you should consider an alternative to LASIK vision correction, like wearing glasses or contact lenses, or maybe some other procedure.

Other conditions or situations that you should tell your doctor about prior to the procedure: herpes or shingles, glaucoma, ocular hypertension, eye diseases, eye injuries, previous eye surgeries, or keratoconus should be discussed as these may affect viability of the surgery.

You should also ask your doctor to screen you for the following conditions prior to vision correction:

• Blepharitis

• Large pupils

• Thin corneas

• Previous refractive surgeries

• Dry eyes

Once you have researched all of these conditions or discussed them with a LASIK surgeon you can determine if you are a candidate for vision correction.