What Makes Someone a Good LASIK Candidate?

Are you wondering if you can say goodbye to glasses and contact lenses permanently? If you qualify for LASIK, you may be able to. You can find out if you are a good LASIK candidate by scheduling a LASIK consultation at Shoreline Vision.

Candidacy Factors for LASIK

There are a few primary factors to consider before heading in for your LASIK consultation. These are general qualifications that you can assess yourself, including:

Age:

FDA guidelines require that you must be at least 18 years old to have LASIK. Your eyes do not stop developing until adulthood, so many doctors recommend waiting until your mid to late twenties to receive LASIK to ensure your prescription is stable and unchanged.

Health Conditions:

If you suffer from an autoimmune condition like diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, it might affect your ability to heal after LASIK.

Prescription Changes:

If you have recently changed prescriptions, you need to wait to have LASIK until your vision has been stable for at least a year.

Pregnancy:

Hormone changes during pregnancy can affect your vision, so it is best to postpone your LASIK procedure until you are done having children.

These are only some of the factors that go into LASIK candidacy. If you fit these requirements, the next step of the screening process occurs during your LASIK consultation. An ophthalmologist will perform tests to determine if your eyes can undergo LASIK by checking for the following factors:

Corneal Thickness:

LASIK requires creating a corneal flap. If your corneas are too thin, you cannot undergo LASIK. At Shoreline Vision, our team uses wavefront technology to map out your cornea before surgery. This increases the precision of the procedure, improves your results, and reduces the likelihood of side effects occurring.

Strength of Your Prescription:

If your prescription is too strong to correct with LASIK, your eye doctor might recommend another procedure like PRK.

Dry Eye:

Recovery from LASIK requires that your eyes stay hydrated. If you have dry eye syndrome, you will need to have symptoms under control before you can have LASIK.

Maintaining Realistic Expectations

Most patients that get LASIK love their new vision and end up with 20/20 vision or better. Although LASIK is a life-changing procedure, it is not right for everyone. If your prescription is too strong, LASIK might not provide the results you want, especially if you have presbyopia.

LASIK does not guarantee perfect vision forever and does not treat future eye conditions. It treats refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. If you have concerns about the limitations of LASIK, discuss them with your ophthalmologist.

Getting Started

To learn if you qualify for LASIK, request a LASIK consultation with our team at Shoreline Vision today.