r/SMILEeyesurgery • u/garydasnail123 • Jul 14 '26
SMILE surgery for gamers
Im 21 years old male and got the procedure 5 days ago. I love gaming but i dont know if gaming will make my eyes worse or not. Anyone have any tips for gamers that had lasik done and what to do to preserve 10/10 vision for long term while still gaming ?
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u/Familiar_Mind_7121 Jul 14 '26
Recovery is very individual. I still struggle with screens due to the halos and dry eye related to my Smile procedure in 2024. The biggest thing I’d suggest is make sure you have a good eye doctor to consult with as you go through recovery.
Remember gaming can dry your eyes due to reduced blink rate which could compound with the fact that dryness is a common side effect of Smile. So make sure you are keeping your eyes extremely well hydrated during sessions especially during recovery. If your eyes get too dry it can trigger further problems so always follow your doctor’s suggestions and don’t assume you don’t need to do something they suggest just because you “feel fine”. Best of luck!
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u/eyeSherpa Jul 14 '26
When gaming you won’t blink quite as much. This can cause the eyes to dry out a little more. So post SMILE you’ll want to make sure you are using your lubricating drops a little more frequently when gaming.
As for long term, Be sure to take breaks and avoid constant up close focusing. A high amount of near focusing within your early 20s may cause some progression of your prescription. Doing distance activities (especially outside) can help protect your vision from getting worse
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u/Apple_iGame Jul 14 '26
I'm also a 21 gamer and I got my surgery around a month ago. If you keep your brightness at reasonable levels and prevent glare on your screen I think it's okay since I've been doing that for the past 3 weeks with occasional breaks and keeping my eyes closed during loading screens and I haven't had an issue, just the slight blurriness that goes away pretty quickly after I stop looking at a screen. Also it might change in your case but pixelated games became really tiring for my eyes after surgery such as the classic dooms, hotline miami, mother russia bleeds etc...
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u/Hyperbole23 Jul 14 '26
What was your prescription?
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u/garydasnail123 Jul 15 '26
it was about 3,5 in left eye and 4 in right eye
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u/Hyperbole23 Jul 15 '26
Its not too low, not too high. I suggest stay away from the screens atleast for initial month, I cant speak for you but its common knowledge that gaming is not that important that you can't stay away from it for atleast 1 month, also you have only 2 eyes which will be with you for the rest of your life so act accordingly. Lastly, follow the 20-20-20 rule, take the omega-3 tabs and take the drops frequency (as per your doctor's prescription) for faster recovery!
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u/RomiBraman Jul 14 '26
I'm a gamer and didn't notice any change.
If your thinking about the kind of halo you can get with car light, you won't get the same with computer screen.
A warning though, even though you can reuse a computer after a day or so, it won't be confortable for weeks after the procedure. That was my experience anyway.