Eye Inflammation 2 Months After Cataract Surgery
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Why do my eyes burn 2 months after cataract surgery?
Cataract surgery is a common and typically safe procedure. However, like all surgeries, it may cause some complications, This includes dry eye, which happens when your eyes don’t produce enough tears, or if the tears on the surface of your eye evaporate too quickly.
It’s common to have dry eyes after cataract surgery. For example, in a 2019 study, 42 percent of participants who had cataract surgery developed dry eye symptoms. A 2017 study on 433 people found that dry eye was a side effect after 55.7 percent of cataract surgeries. Generally, post-cataract surgery dry eye is temporary.
Still, it can be uncomfortable, as it often causes symptoms like eye irritation and blurry vision. Read on to learn why dry eye develops after cataract surgery, along with remedies and treatments for relieving this condition. There are several reasons why dry eye often develops after cataract surgery.
The main reason involves the tear film on your eyes. The tear film is a layer of liquid that covers the surface of your eye. It’s made of three layers, including an outer lipid layer. The lipid layer works to stabilize the tear film. This stops tears from evaporating, which keeps the eye surface smooth and lubricated.
Cataract surgery can make the lipid layer thinner. As a result, the tear film becomes unstable, resulting in dry eyes. Dry eyes after cataract surgery may also be related to:
Corneal nerve damage. Corneal nerves are involved in tear production. If the surgery damages a corneal nerve, it may lead to reduced blinking and tear production, resulting in dryness. Light exposure. During cataract surgery, your surgeon will use a microscope that has a bright light. The light may reduce goblet cells in your eyes, which are responsible for lubricating the eye. Inflammation. Inflammation is a normal response after you’ve had surgery, including cataract surgery. In this case, inflammation in your eye could decrease tear production. Medicated eye drops. After surgery, you’ll likely need to use medicated eye drops to manage pain and swelling. The pain relievers, corticosteroids, and preservatives in these eye drops might slow down healing, which can worsen dry eye.
How long does it last? In general, eye dryness is usually worse during the first week after surgery. According to a 2020 study, it typically improves about a month after surgery. Additionally, if you already had dry eyes before surgery, the procedure could worsen your symptoms. Other risk factors that may increase your risk of dry eyes after cataract surgery include:
being olderhaving underlying medical conditionsusing certain medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), after surgery
Dry eyes can happen when your eyes don’t produce enough tears. This can cause symptoms such as:
eye pain a sensation of burning in the eyesincreased eye sensitivity to wind and lightfeeling like something is in your eye blurry vision
If you have a mild case of dry eye, there are home remedies that may improve your symptoms. If you develop severe dry eye symptoms after cataract surgery, you may require medical treatment. Based on your symptoms and level of eye dryness, an eye doctor may prescribe the following treatments:
Cyclosporine eye drops, Cyclosporine may help reduce inflammation in the eye’s surface after cataract surgery. Lifitegrast eye drops. Lifitegrast can also help minimize inflammation. It’s used for severe cases of dry eye. Punctal plugs. Punctal plugs are inserted into your tear ducts to stop tear drainage.
It’s important to remember that prescription dry eye medication may take weeks or months to work. So, you’ll still need to continue artificial tears when you begin taking prescription medication. After cataract surgery, you’ll typically have regular checkups with an eye doctor.
worsening eye drynesssevere painvision changes signs of an eye infection, such as redness a severe itchy or gritty sensationswelling in the eye that doesn’t go away or gets worse
It’s common to develop dry eyes after cataract surgery. The reason for this is because the procedure can disrupt the tear film, which lubricates the surface of your eye. Cataract surgery may also cause inflammation and nerve damage, which can worsen your symptoms.
Is it normal to have pain in eye 6 months after cataract surgery?
Pain After Cataract Surgery Can Masquerade as Dry Eye If a patient complains of nagging dry eye symptoms months after cataract surgery, their real diagnosis could be persistent postsurgical pain (PPP), a new study suggests. A group of Miami researchers found PPP in the form of persistent dry eye–like symptoms was present in approximately 34% of individuals six months after cataract surgery.
Additionally, the study found the frequency of PPP after cataract surgery mirrored other post-procedure periods, including laser refractive surgery, dental implants and genitourinary procedures, which suggests cataract surgery could be classified as a medium-risk procedure. Since the cornea is among the most densely innervated tissues in the body, investigators sought to find out whether PPP occurred after ocular procedures.
Researchers conducted phone interviews with 119 individuals who had cataract surgery performed by a single surgeon at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Investigators did the interviews six months following the surgery and placed the participants in two groups: patients with PPP who had a Dry Eye Questionnaire Five (DEQ-5) score greater than six and those without PPP with a DEQ-5 score of less than six, half a year following the procedure.
- The average age of the participants was 73.
- Based on the results of the DEQ-5, 41 individuals reported having PPP (34%) and 78 individuals reported having no symptoms.
- Researchers noted the frequency of severe PPP was 18% (22 people).
- Investigators found most medical comorbidities and medications were not associated with an increased risk of PPP.
However, they found individuals with an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, Sjögren’s, polymyalgia rheumatica or multiple sclerosis had an increased risk of PPP. Patients who had pain disorders—headache, migraine, lower back pain or fibromyalgia—were also more prone to PPP.
- And for those patients who had dry eye issues before cataract surgery, their risk also increased.
- Patients at a greater risk of PPP were female, had an autoimmune or non-ocular chronic pain disorder or used antihistamines, anti-reflux medication, antidepressants or anti-insomnia medications.
- PPP patients also reported more frequent use of artificial tears, higher ocular pain levels and greater neuropathic ocular pain symptoms, specifically burning, wind sensitivity and light sensitivity.
“Dry eye symptoms are classically believed to arise because of a disturbance in either the tear film or the orbital structures that give rise to or interact with the tear film, but recent consensus has highlighted a concomitant role of neurogenic stress and ocular surface inflammation,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
“Dense innervation of the cornea and the known corneal nerve injury that occurs at a surgical incision likely form the backdrop for the development of PPP after cataract surgery.” Symptom management after cataract surgery may focus on minimizing ocular surface nerve damage by careful surgical dissection, pre-surgical treatment of modifiable comorbid risk factors like anxiety, and perioperative pain control, the study noted.
: Pain After Cataract Surgery Can Masquerade as Dry Eye
How long does it take for eyes to completely heal after cataract surgery?
You should be able to go home on the same day as your cataract surgery. You may have a pad and plastic shield over your treated eye when you leave hospital, which can usually be removed the day after surgery. Feeling should start to return to your eye within a few hours of surgery, but it may take a few days for your vision to fully return. It’s normal to have:
- grittiness
- watering
- blurred vision
- double vision
- a red or bloodshot eye
These side effects usually improve within a few days, but it can take 4 to 6 weeks to recover fully. If you need new glasses, you will not be able to order them until your eye has completely healed, usually after 6 weeks. Cataract surgery has a high success rate in improving your eyesight and should allow you to return to your normal activities, like driving.
Can you rub your eyes 2 months after cataract surgery?
Do not rub or put pressure on your eye for at least 1 week. Do not wear eye makeup for 1 to 2 weeks. You may also want to avoid face cream or lotion. Do not get your hair coloured or permed for 10 days after surgery.
What are red flags after cataract surgery?
Don’t delay if your something doesn’t feel right –
The red flags in the weeks after your cataract surgery as you’re still recovering, include:
- Deteriorating sight
- Increasing redness or pain of the eye
- The appearance of flashing lights or floating specks
- Unusual headaches or nausea
- Discharge from the eye
- The perception of a black curtain or shadow coming across part of your visual field
These are not expected symptoms after any cataract surgery, and should be attended to immediately. If you’re unable to get in contact with your usual ophthalmologist, you may visit your local optometrist or hospital emergency department. Call us on (03) 9070 5753 today.
What is rebound inflammation after cataract surgery?
Chronic or recurrent inflammation, including cystoid macular edema (CME), occurs in about 0.1% to 2% of patients following routine cataract surgery.1 Prolonged postsurgical inflammation, though relatively rare, can be frustrating for both patients and practitioners.
Why is my vision cloudy 6 months after cataract surgery?
WHAT IS A POSTERIOR CAPSULAR OPACIFICATION (AKA SECONDARY CATARACT)? – A secondary cataract, or “after-cataract,” is a misnomer and not really a cataract at all. This issue occurs when an opaque film grows over the sac or membrane that holds your new lens in place.
