Eye surgery is occasionally performed to enhance vision as well as occasionally to enhance eye appearance. We want to talk about alcohol consumption in this guide because it isn’t typically discussed but may be relevant and may affect how you feel during surgery. We’re not referring to binge drinking here, just a few drinks before and after eye surgery. We advise Cataract Surgery patients not to drink alcohol for at least 24 hours after surgery or longer.
Although the recovery period for cataract eye surgery is usually very brief, it’s important to follow a few guidelines immediately after the procedure, to allow your eyes to heal.
Can I Drink Alcohol After Cataract Surgery? Or Before?
A week with an unbearable ear infection and no soothing nightcaps? Is a whole night sober with your in-laws? Yeah right. We all know there have been times we’ve sneaked a small one when we shouldn’t have, and for the most part, that’s okay. But when it comes to things like surgery, there can be consequences.
How Soon After Cataract Surgery Can I Drink Alcohol?
We advise patients not to drink alcohol for at least 24 hours after surgery, sometimes even for a few days longer, in order to reduce the risk of infection.
Alcohol Effects On The Body Before Cataract Surgery
Drinking alcohol affects the body in various ways. You will probably be aware of the health risks of drinking too much alcohol. But, it can negatively impact your healing after surgery. Drinking too much alcohol regularly can affect your liver, kidneys, heart, immune system, and pancreas. All these organs are essential during your plastic surgery recovery.
Alcohol has been linked to several complications after surgery, including:
- Excessive bleeding
- Wound healing issues
- Heart and lung problems
- Infections
It doesn’t matter whether you’re having breast augmentation or a tummy tuck; alcohol impacts all types of surgeries and procedures. Research shows that people who have more than a couple of drinks a day are more likely to experience complications after surgery than light drinkers or those who don’t drink at all.
Why Can’t You Drink Alcohol After Surgery?
It’s important to avoid drinking alcohol after surgery. This is because alcohol can affect your risk of surgical complications, your results, and your healing. Here are some of the effects of alcohol after surgery.
Delay Healing
Healing is incredibly important in your recovery. In general, if you drink alcohol after your surgery, it will slow down the healing process and can thin your blood. Drinking alcohol has been linked to complications after surgery, like wound healing issues.
Increase The Risk Of Swelling
When you drink, it widens your blood vessels which can increase swelling. During the recovery period, your post-surgical instructions are there to reduce swelling. An increase in swelling could result in some post-surgical complications, affecting your ability to recover and the final result.
Blood Thinner
Thinning of the blood can be dangerous as it can cause infections and prolonged bleeding. At the same time, alcohol reduces the effectiveness of your immune system.
Alcohol is a blood thinner. Consuming alcohol could lead to excessive bleeding both before and after the surgery. It could also increase bruising and swelling, which can make recovery longer and more uncomfortable. In general, your doctor will advise you to stop taking blood-thinning medication before surgery for this reason, and alcohol is no exception.
Dehydration
Although having an alcoholic beverage can seem refreshing, it can dehydrate the body. Staying hydrated is an essential part of the healing process. Alcohol can cause dehydration and impact your healing.
As dehydration can affect your skin, alcohol can impact your scarring. It may increase itchiness around the surgical site and prolong your recovery. Dryness may also affect your skin’s elasticity, which is important in procedures such as breast enhancement and liposuction.
Harmful Medication And Alcohol Combination
Following a cosmetic procedure, you may be prescribed medication like painkillers or antibiotics. You shouldn’t mix medication and alcohol as it could lead to some unpleasant side effects such as nausea, headaches, and drowsiness. It can also put you at risk of other problems such as heart issues or breathing difficulties.
Tiredness
If you drink after surgery, it can make you feel more tired. You need the energy to kickstart the recovery process and promote healing. It’s vital that you feel rested and get a good night’s sleep consistently. Drinking alcohol after surgery can impact your quality of sleep, so you don’t feel as re-energized the following day.
Although it can feel like alcohol may numb any discomfort, it actually has the opposite effect by making your recovery period longer. While it can feel like you nod off more quickly after alcohol, it ends up disrupting the quality of your sleep. We’ve pulled together a quick guide on how to sleep more comfortably after plastic surgery to help you kickstart your recovery.
Anaesthesia Effects
A general anaesthetic puts you into a deep sleep. If you’re undergoing plastic surgery under general anaesthetic, you can feel a bit out of sorts when you wake up. Not only do you need someone to drive you home after the procedure, but it’s important that you avoid alcohol for at least 24 hours after you leave the hospital or while taking any pain medication.
How Alcohol Can Affect Your Cataract Recovery?
It’s common sense to avoid wearing eye makeup for example, as this carries a high risk of infection in the early days after eye surgery. While drinking beer or wine may seem harmless in comparison, the alcohol in your favorite tipple can have a significant effect on your body’s ability to recover:
- Dehydrating. As you’ll know if you’ve ever woken up thirsty after a night out, alcohol has a dehydrating effect on the body. In the days following laser eye surgery, you’re already at a greater risk of dry eyes, so it’s advisable to avoid anything that could make this worse. Keep your fluid intake up – but hold off on the alcoholic drinks for the time being.
- Lowering the defenses. A healthy person is normally pretty good at fighting off the bacteria that cause infection. But following any type of surgery, we are more vulnerable than usual. Alcohol also reduces our natural resistance to bacteria, and drinking it during the recovery period could increase your chances of infection.
- Interfering with medication. You might be prescribed antibiotics or other medication to help your eyes to heal, but alcohol can stop these from working properly. It could also lead to side effects such as sickness or dizziness; take advice from your surgeon regarding your own medication.
- Risk of swelling. When we drink alcohol, the blood vessels in the body become dilated. This isn’t usually a problem, but following surgery, it can lead to swelling and inflammation, which could slow down your recovery time.
The risk of complications after laser eye surgery is low and most people will be back enjoying their usual everyday activities within a few days. However, drinking alcohol after LASIK or any other form of laser vision correction is likely to increase your chances of experiencing side effects. To keep the risks to a minimum, we advise patients to avoid drinking alcohol for at least 24 hours following surgery, sometimes a few days more.
Conclusion For Cataract Surgery & Drinking
Fortunately, recovery after cataract Surgery is incredibly short, so this period of best behavior will pass quickly, and you’ll be enjoying your new, improved vision whilst sipping your favorite alcoholic beverage before you know it.
In order to avoid the dangers of alcohol, a good general rule is to stay within the government-issued guidelines for alcohol consumption.
Let’s not forget, though, that after having cataract Surgery, you certainly don’t need alcohol to celebrate your new, improved vision and make the most of its benefits. So whatever you decide to do and whether or not you have a drink in hand, cheers.
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FAQs
How Long After Cataract Surgery Can I Have Alcohol?
You cannot drink beer, wine or alcohol for 24 hours. Most patients leave the hospital for home about 20 minutes after surgery. Your nurse will check your blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen levels for ten minutes after you leave the operating room.
How Does Alcohol Affect Cataract Surgery?
But if at all possible, optometrists advise you to refrain from drinking for a week following surgery. This is to ensure that your body’s healing process can take full effect and to avoid dehydrating your eyes. Alcohol could also interfere with any drops or medications you are given to use for the first week after surgery.
What Should I Avoid Doing After Cataract Surgery?
For two weeks, or until your doctor gives the all-clear, avoid bending over or engaging in strenuous activities like biking, jogging, weight lifting, or aerobic exercise. Avoid swimming, hot tubs, gardening, and dusting for 1 to 2 weeks. For a minimum of a year following surgery, wear sunglasses on sunny days.
Can Alcohol Worsen Cataracts?
In the meta-analysis of 10 studies, the associations between moderate alcohol consumption and age-related cataract were marginally nonsignificant (pooled relative risk, 0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.74 to 1.05; I = 82.1%), whereas drinking a lot of alcohol was linked to a higher risk.
What Happens If You Drink Alcohol After Eye Surgery?
The day after the procedure, for patients who drink alcohol responsibly, is usually okay. However, as mentioned above, alcohol consumption can lead to dehydration and possibly contribute to a dry eye effect post-operatively.
Can I Drink Alcohol While Using Prednisolone Eye Drops?
As previously mentioned, your immune system is suppressed by both alcohol and corticosteroids like prednisone. Combining the two can put you at risk of getting an infection. An adverse effect of corticosteroids is weight gain.
