With countless activities to do during Florida’s summer, making sure your eyes are in the best shape can help you make the most out of the long sunny days, spontaneous beach trips, and spending time with friends and family. Crystal-clear vision helps to make each moment more vivid, and puts less eye strain on you without the need for glasses or contacts. If you are tired of keeping track of your eyewear, contact maintenance, or slightly blurry vision, considering laser eye surgery in Tampa might be the best option for you.

Summer Lifestyle and Vision Clarity 

Florida summer is characterized by more time spent outdoors, enjoying activities like beach days, cheering on the Tampa Bay Rays, or grilling out in your backyard with friends and family. With warmer days, Florida summers can lead to glasses that slide down your face, fog up, or uncomfortably stick to your nose. Increased beach days with salty ocean air and water can lead to increased dry eyes and potential for debris to get stuck in your contact, causing damage to your eye. 

With laser eye surgery in Tampa, you can ditch those glasses or contacts and enjoy clear, vibrant vision after recovery. Your optometrist in Tampa will be able to provide a more personalized plan for your treatment, but exploring your options and learning about the basics can help you make a more informed decision that will be best for you. 

What is Laser Eye Surgery?

Laser eye surgery is a medical procedure that uses a laser to reshape the surface of the eye. This procedure can improve or correct short-sightedness, long-sightedness, astigmatism, and sight deterioration that comes with age. There are two main types of laser eye surgery, with LASIK being the one that may come top of mind first, but also including PRK. 

LASIK and PRK are both procedures that reshape the cornea, with the main difference being how they correct the corneal tissue to achieve the desired outcome of vision improvement. LASIK involves folding the cornea back to give the surgeon access to reshape the deeper corneal layer, while PRK removes the cornea’s outer layer altogether before reshaping the deeper corneal layer. 

Benefits of LASIK or PRK and Recovery Time 

Both LASIK and PRK are effective and lead to similar outcomes for corrected vision. The biggest difference between the two is the recovery time and time until corrected vision is achieved. Given that LASIK is a less invasive procedure, peak vision clarity will typically be achieved at three months, while PRK can take up to six months. 

LASIK recovery patients don’t experience much discomfort post-operation, while PRK patients may be more uncomfortable. LASIK may only require medicated eye drops, while PRK may involve pain medications in addition to eye drops for optimal recovery. 

Your eye doctor will be able to talk through both options and find the solution that makes the most sense for you, depending on your needs. Regardless of which method you go with, a clearer vision for the future is on your horizon! 

Request an appointment with an optometrist in Tampa today to stay on top of your eye health and have a fantastic summer ahead. 

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