What recovery after lens surgery is really like

The operation takes about twenty minutes. Recovery takes rather longer than most people expect to be told, though almost all of it is unremarkable.

The first evening

Vision in the treated eye is blurry and the eye may feel gritty, as though there is an eyelash in it. This is normal. You will have a clear plastic shield to tape over the eye at night for the first week, which stops you rubbing it in your sleep.

The next morning

This is when most people first realise something has changed. Colours look startlingly bright and blue in particular can seem almost fluorescent — the old lens had been filtering it out gradually for years. It settles within a few weeks as you adjust.

The first week

• Avoid swimming, dusty environments and gardening
• Do not rub the eye, however much it wants rubbing
• Showering is fine; keep soap and shampoo out of the eye
• Reading, television and screens are all fine and will not strain it
• Most people are back at a desk job within two or three days

Weeks two to six

Vision continues to sharpen and stabilise. If you are having both eyes done, the second is usually treated in this window. Any final glasses prescription is left until around six weeks, once things have settled.

The two things that most often go wrong

Neither is dramatic. The first is stopping the drops early because the eye feels fine — the drops are controlling inflammation you cannot feel, and stopping them early is the most common avoidable cause of a slow recovery.

The second is not ringing when something changes. Increasing pain, worsening vision, or a red eye after the first few days all warrant a call the same day. They are rarely serious, but they are always worth checking.