Can You Drink Alcohol After Cataract Surgery?

What the eye hospitals say

Moorfields Eye Hospital’s private care blog says: “If you have had sedation during your cataract surgery, avoid alcohol for 24 hours afterwards.” That is the only specific alcohol instruction we found from an official eye hospital.

The NHS cataract surgery recovery page and the Guy’s and St Thomas’ aftercare page do not mention alcohol. We found no official source that says to avoid alcohol for weeks, so claims of a 3 to 4 week ban should be checked with your surgeon rather than assumed.

What recovery advice does say

• Do not rub your eye. Moorfields says rubbing can slow healing and raise the risk of infection.
• Use your eye drops as prescribed. Guy’s and St Thomas’ says you will usually need them for up to 4 weeks, and to use steroid drops only for the prescribed number of days.
• Do not drive until your vision is back to normal, says the NHS.
• Get help if vision becomes cloudy or blurry, or your eye becomes red or painful. Go urgently if floaters appear suddenly, you see flashes of light, or a dark curtain moves across your vision.

Other medicines

Alcohol can add to the effects of sedatives and some pain relievers. NIAAA lists sedatives and opioid pain medicines among those with risk. Check with a pharmacist about anything you were prescribed.

If you are unsure, wait for your surgeon’s go-ahead.