Top 10 things to do after your eyelid surgery or blepharoplasty in 2023

After eyelid surgery or blepharoplasty, it is important to follow your surgeon’s post-operative instructions carefully to promote proper healing and reduce the risk of complications.

Here are some general tips that we may recommend:

1. Medications

After the surgery there will be some swelling and there will be some bruising . You have to take some medications for five days. Generally, antibiotics are given to take care of any kind of infection along with that some painkillers are given. Along with that we prescribe some eye drops which takes care of lubrication of your eyes so that blurry vision is not there.

We also grip a cream to apply on the stitches if an upper eyelid surgery has been done so that any kind of infection is prevented.

2.Diet

You can have soft food the same day of the surgery. If it is done under local anesthesia, you will be discharged within few hours. And if it is done under general anesthesia,  it can be a daycare procedure.

So, take light food on the day of the surgery , before the surgery also if it is done in the local anaesthesia or if it is done under General anaesthesia you have to be empty stomach and after the surgery for the first day take light diet and next subsequent days take diet that is not rich in carbohydrate as it might increase the swelling.

3.Bath

You can take bath from neck down and wash your hair like in a saloon. But do not put any kind of water on your stitches on your eyelids because it can cause some kind of infection.

As sometimes it has been seen that tap water has something known as mycobacteria which can do an infection and harm your results so abstain from putting any kind of water on your eyelids for at least one week.

If you want to put some water you can use a mineral water or distilled water that can be helpful for.

4. ICE Pack

Ice pack forms a very important component after the surgery and it is applied every 10 minutes for first 24 to 48 hours depending on the swelling. It helps in decreasing the swelling and also provides the soothing effect.

What we can do, apply ice pack in the form of frozen peas as it is easier to Contour.

5.Proper sleep

Sleep is a very important factor. You have to sleep in supine position that means lying on your back not on your tummy. Try and sleep at least in that position for first few days plus take two-three pillows underneath your head, so that the head becomes elevated and the gravity does not increase any kind of swelling.

6. Activities

Activities has to be slow and you can drive your car after four to five days because there will be some swelling and bruising in the eyelids. Along with that you can normally resume your work after three to four days as the selling subsides. You can go for a walk but do not exert yourself.

Even next day after the surgery go very slow and heavy activities are to be done after three to four weeks when the healing is complete and the bruising swelling is down. You can socialize after two weeks when the healing is complete and the swelling has subsided.

7. Eye Drops

We generally prescribe two kinds of eye drops.

One  is a steroid Base eye drops that takes care of any kind of inflammation and the other is the lubricating eye drops.

Generally three to four times use lubricating eye drops and steroid eye drops for only two to three times a day. You can continue for seven days. Some blurriness in the vision is expected because of multiple reasons first of all we put some cream when we do your surgery in your eyes.

Blurriness can be there in the first week some bloodiness is common if it increases then you can contact our office and we will provide you all the necessary instructions.

 8. Work

As we discussed, you can resume work depending on whether you are working from home or have to go out for field work. I would say that you should give at least seven to eight days. Whenever you go out, make sure to wear goggles or sunscreen to protect yourself. Initially, screen time should be reduced as there may be vision blurring and watery eyes for the first few days.

So, three to four days of working from home is also acceptable.

9. Avoid smoking & alcohol

No smoking or consuming alcohol for one month after the surgery.

Additionally, make sure to stop smoking & alcohol at least one month before the surgery. Additionally, there are some medications such as fish oil, Vitamin E and Omega-3 fatty acid, These need to be stopped after the surgery, as they act as blood thinners, along with green tea and other substances.

10. Call us

The most important point is that you can call us anytime if you have any queries; we give our numbers to all our patients.

• If the pain increases and is not controllable even with the painkillers, then you should call us.
• If the discomfort is unbearable, please call us.
• If you feel that a large amount of blood is oozing out, some amount is normal to come out of the stitches. However, if you feel that it is coming out more or the swelling has increased and there is bruising, then you should call us.
• If you notice any pus-colored fluid coming out from your eyelid, you should call us.