Q: I had lasik about nine days ago, was seeing 20-25 2 days after the surgery, and I woke up this morning with my right eye seeing blurry. I was told to avoid pools and hot tubs for two weeks, but I was sitting BY a pool and hot tub yesterday for a couple of hours. Could this be the cause and if so, is there anything I can do? A: Although it is probably nothing serious, I would go and see your lasik doctor immediately, to make sure that it is not something serious that needs immediate treatment. Andrew Caster, MD

Q: I remember hearing about complications with Lasik and people who have climbed Everest. With Lasik, and after full recovery/healing, would traveling to high altitude regions be a problem? Snowboarding? Especially Skydiving? A: People who had the earlier form of refractive surgery, radial keratotomy (RK), have had problems on Mount Everest. I am not aware of any problems from Lasik in this regard. Snowboarding and skydiving are not a problem (at least as far as your eyes are concerned!). Andrew Caster, MD

Q: I have myopia and a lazy eye and have been recently using glasses. I am also fourteen. Is it recommended that I get Lasik eye surgery now or when I get older or maybe I just don't need it at all? A: You need to wait until your eyes stop changing, which is usually 18 or older. Andrew Caster, MD

Q: I had PRK on one eye because of my cornea thinness. The 6-month recovery was too long and painful so I am considering Intralase for my second eye. Was the long recovery due to the PRK surgery or the fact that I had a lot of correction done? Does more correction mean a longer recovery? A: PRK has a much slower healing process than Lasik. When you make a flap, regardless of how you make it, the healing process is significantly slower. In some cases, however, PRK (Lasik without a flap) is the safer approach. Andrew Caster, MD

Q:  Dear Doctor, My name is Marditsa, I am 42 years old, I am coming from Greece. 2 months ago I had a Laser operation with LASIK method on my eyes to reduce or extinct myopia and astigmatism that I had and still have but less. The first week after the operation I couldn’t see clearly. After this period of time I started seeing properly but several black spots with several shapes appeared in both eyes that I didn’t see before, especially during the morning, when focusing on white surfaces but during night as well, hopefully less. When I move my eyes fast, the black spots follow the move of my eyes, they appear almost in the centre of my view where I focus and then if I continue focusing on there they start go lower until they stop moving in a lower place on my sight. Now after 2 months the situation is completely the same and the only thing that has changed is psychological situation. I collapse everyday more and more thinking that this situation may be permanent. I would be glad to hear your opinion. I am looking forward to receiving your email. Sincerely yours Xesternou M. A: What you have are known as "floaters". These are very common in the population as a whole, but more so in nearsighted people, whether or not they have had laser vision correction. These are tiny peices of tissue that have come loose and are flaoting around inside your eye. Sometimes they float right into your field of view, which as you know is very disturbing. Typically they go away after a few months, but sometimes not for a few years. Although these can be treated with a laser, the treatment is too risky for the benefit, so there is no treatment that I would recommend. Andrew Caster, MD

Q:  I am a scuba diver. Because of the pressure from diving into deep water, would it be safe on my eyes if I had Lasik, Wavefront or any other Lasik-procedure done? Also, how long should you wait after the surgery before diving? Thank you. -- Jimmy A: The pressure from scuba diving is not an issue after lasik. I recommend that people wait 1 week before they swim and 3-4 weeks before surfing or scuba diving. Andrew Caster, MD

Q: Hi! I'm planning on backpacking through europe early Sept. Would you recommend me getting Lasik before I go? A: If you can have your procedure at least 1 month before you go, then you would have plenty of time to heal, and you might enjoy your trip more than with glasses or contacts. Otherwise, have the treatment when you return. Andrew Caster, MD

Q: I am 19 years old and my eye doctor said I have a lazy eye. I for some reason, at my age, had to have strabismus surgery a year ago and again 2 months ago because my double vision came back. Is this due to my lazy eye? I am not sure what caused it (lazy eye). It might be strabismus or that my right eye is much worse than my left. I have heard that past 17 it is hard to correct. I am looking for a surgical option to try to correct it. What can I do? A: It is hard to correct lazy eye after the age of 8 or so, though some recent studies have shown some improvement in adults. You should see a pediatric/strabismus specialist -- they are the ones who most commonly treat amblyopia. Andrew Caster, MD

Q: Hello, I had my PRK done last saturday - may 6 2006. I was nearsighted, -4.75, -5.25. I had done PRK because my cornea is too thin to do lasik. Everything went well, however it was very painful the first couple days. Now my eyes are just fine, no swelling, no watering or whatever. Yesterday my band-aid contacts were removed and the doctor says the healing procces is going just right. My big concern is: My left eye (20/45) is much worse than the right one (20/25). It makes me very dizzy and gives me headaches. Is it normal? Is it going to even it up? I am worried that I will have to get 1 contact lens. My doctor says yes, it will even up but I am just asking for a second opinion. How long do I have to wait. Will I be able to do enhancement on this one eye. After how long can another surgery be done? Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. Sincerely, Karolina J. from Chicago A: I wish that your doctor had taken more time to explain things to you. It is very common for the two eyes to differ from one another during the healing phase. You vision is quite normal for this stage of the healing from PRK. Andrew Caster, MD www.CasterVision.com

Q: I currently wear progressive lens for mild myopic astigmitism with low power reading lenses. I want correction for good binocular distance vision and am willing to still use reading glasses. I am 50 years old. Should I expect to still use about the same power reading glasses (I can read without glasses but have to strain) or will my presbyopia get significantly worse since I am getting myopic vision correction. Also would someone with hyperopia and presbyopia see improvement in their presbyopia with hyperopic correction? Thank you Bob T. A: You should need about the same power reading glasses as the difference between the top and bottom of your current glasses (what we call the reading "add"). This is because lasik does not affect presbyopia. Some people with hyperopic lasik get a slight "multifocal effect" which helps a small amount with near vision limited by presbyopia. Andrew Caster, MD Beverly Hills, California