Watery, burning eyes in A.M.

[cwatt1]

Often after I rise in the morning my eyes burn and water.  Wiping them with a tissue does a good job of relieving the discomfort, and I'm generally good for the rest of the day.

My concern is that I'm going to have cataract surgery this coming Wednesday, and I know that rubbing the eyes afterward is a bad idea.  I'm hoping for suggestions as to how best to relieve the discomfort and not compromise the incisions by rubbing my eyes.

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

From now till the surgery, you should place a warm compress (could be a hot pack rapped in a wet towel or anything else really warm that won't burn your eyelids) on your eyelids for 5-10 minutes every night followed by scrubbing of your eyelashes with warm water and a Q-tip (this is meant to decrease the amount of bacteria on your eyelashes before the surgery).  After this, you should place lubricating gel or ointment (meant for dry eyes) before you go to bed.  This should make your symptoms better within 2 days.  If not, tell your doctor immediately as these symptoms may get worse after cataract surgery and if you have too much bacteria on your eyelashes you could be at increased risk for an infection after surgery.

HV

[cwatt1]

Thanks, Doctor.  My ophthalmologist prescribed Vigamox and Nevenac 4 times per day beginning 2 days before the surgery,  Being a antibiotic, I hope the Vigamox helps with the bacteria count as well.