Risks and Rewards of Laser Eye Care

If you suffer from near sightedness, far sightedness, or astigmatism, there may be some help for you. Most people treat the symptoms with contact lenses or prescription glasses, but these treatments don't cure the underlying causes of poor vision. Now, there is more that you can do to actually correct a variety of vision problems. If you're tired of taking care of glasses and contacts or if you simply want a change, then laser eye care might be the next treatment that you want to consider. There are a handful of lingering concerns over this treatment, but they have largely been addressed in the past few years.

Many people will immediately realize that laser eye care is expensive. For many people, it is still too expensive, although the cost is rapidly falling. Because of the lack of medical experience and research regarding side effects, most health insurance plans do not cover laser eye care. Therefore, you should only consider this treatment if you are willing to make a large investment in your vision. However, there are a number of other concerns that you should be aware of before committing to laser eye surgery, first and foremost the possible side effects.

Laser eye care centers are consistently being upgraded with state of the art equipment as millions of dollars are poured into research to try to discover more efficient and safer ways to fix vision problems. New mapping techniques allow for nearly-instantaneous recalculations in the laser, and years of experience and analysis are producing new equipment. Still, there are a number of common side effects to this treatment. Many people complain of dry eyes after surgery. Often, this is only temporary, but a still significant percentage of people develop permanent dry eyes. Sometimes, this condition will even lead to a loss of quality of life, eventually leading to depression. With recent advances though, such side effects from laser eye care are being reduced or eliminated outright.

Between the cost and possible side effects, many people are surprised to learn that their results may not meet their expectations. Generally speaking, the public has high expectations regarding laser eye care. The fact of the matter is that many people still require corrective lenses to achieve 20/20 vision. Even people that had near perfect vision before surgery may still require corrective lenses afterwards. If you understand all of the risks involved and are willing to make a financial investment, then laser eye care can help to greatly improve your vision.