Although there are many good benefits that come from lazer eye surgery, there are also many risks that you should consider. Many people receive better sight with lazer eye surgery, but there are certain people who should not undergo lazer eye surgery. You are not a good candidate for lazer eye surgery if you fall into one of the following categories.

Make sure you are willing to take risks, if you don’t like the risks involved then lazer eye surgery is not for you. A percentage of patients will have unavoidable complications and current procedures don’t have concrete long-term data about the lasting effects of this procedure. So make sure you are willing to take the risks along with the benefits.

Before undergoing a lazer eye surgery procedure it is best to check with your employer before you actually have the procedure done. While most receive benefits from this procedure, there may be some jobs that either prohibit their workers from undergoing these procedures or there can be issues that arise if there are complications with the procedure. You will also want to make sure your job pays enough so that you can afford the procedure since it often isn’t covered by medical insurance.

You should also not have lazer eye surgery done if you have had to change your contact lenses or glass prescription within the last year. This is a refractive instability and it is not good for those who are going in for lazer eye surgery. This includes people in their twenties or younger with eye problems, those who have fluctuating hormones from diseases such as diabetes, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding and those who have medications such as steroids that can cause a fluctuation in vision.

Contraindications

There are some types of disease which have not been determined to work safely and effectively with refractive lazer eye surgery. These diseases include the herpes simplex, herpes zoster, glaucoma, ocular hypertension, eye diseases, eye injuries, previous eye surgeries and keratinous. If you have any of these conditions you should discuss the added risks with your doctor before proceeding with lazer eye surgery.

Other Risk Factors

In addition to the above factors there are several things your doctor has to check for before approving you for lazer eye surgery. This includes those with large pupils, your doctor will want to make sure that you don’t have large pupils under dim lighting conditions. Large pupils are common in individuals who have trouble driving at night or in certain weather like fog.

The doctor will also consider your risk associated with thin corneas, since doing a refractive procedure on those with thin corneas can result in blinding complications. You should also consult with your doctor if you have had previous refractive surgery. If your doctor finds that you have dry eye they will likely avoid LASIK since this can make the condition worse.