Am I A Good Candidate For LASIK?

Age

You must be over the age of 18 to get LASIK. This is due to growth and development - your vision is still changing. LASIK will not prevent your eyes from continuing to change, which makes corrective surgery ineffective.

Eye Health

Your eye health is a critical factor in your LASIK candidacy. You should be free from eye diseases like keratoconus, cataracts, retinal or optic nerve diseases, amblyopia (lazy eye), or any other eye problem that might affect healing. To qualify for LASIK, patients should also be free from eye infections or injuries.

General Health

The best candidates for LASIK do not have pre-existing conditions like uncontrolled diabetes, autoimmune disorders, or medications that impact the immune response. This is because your body will have difficulty healing and therefore, you would be at risk of the procedure not working (or not meeting your expectations).

Stable Prescription

You should have a stable vision prescription for at least a year before your procedure. If your prescription has recently changed, this will impact your LASIK procedure results. Like the age factor, LASIK will not prevent your eyesight from continuing to change, which makes corrective surgery ineffective.

Pregnant or Breastfeeding

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, it is best to wait until after you have finished breastfeeding your child to get LASIK. This is because your vision can change when pregnant or breastfeeding due to hormonal and physical changes. Most often, these changes are temporary, and your vision returns to normal after some time. Read our post to learn more about why LASIK is not recommended during pregnancy or lactation.