What are the side effects of LASIK?
The commonly reported side effects are dry or gritty eyes, halos and glare around lights, light sensitivity and vision that fluctuates during the day, particularly in the first weeks.
- Subject
- Vision correction
- Topic
- LASIK
- Kind of question
- What is…
- Procedures
- LASIK
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
These are usually described separately from complications because many of them are expected parts of healing rather than things going wrong. Dryness in particular is common early on, since the surgery temporarily affects the nerves that signal the eye to produce tears.
Halos and glare tend to be most noticeable in low light and often reduce over months. If they persist, they are worth raising with your clinic rather than living with.
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Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Vision correction & laser eye surgery in LASIK . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Procedure LASIK
- Procedure Femto LASIK
- Comparison LASIK vs SMILE
- Comparison LASIK vs PRK
- Place LASIK in Dubai
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- Post-LASIK dry eye disease: A comprehensive review of the current literature
A review of dry eye after LASIK, including the mechanisms involved and how other procedures compare in the published literature.
Used for Balanced comparison of dry-eye risk between procedures.
Link checked 22 September 2026
- Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)
The equivalent clinical reference chapter for LASIK, used so that comparisons describe both procedures symmetrically.
Used for How LASIK creates and manages a corneal flap; LASIK complication categories.
Link checked 22 September 2026