Search "LASIK packing list" and you get a shopping cart: sleep goggles, a specific brand of tears, wraparound sunglasses, a "recovery kit" bundle, a neck pillow, blue-light glasses. Some of that is useful. Most of it is either handed to you at the clinic on surgery day or unnecessary. Here is the split.
The clinic supplies
Included in a standard post-op kit
- Medicated drops: antibiotic and anti-inflammatory, with the schedule
- Preservative-free lubricating tears, usually a first supply
- Rigid sleep shields and tape
- Post-op sunglasses (basic, but they work)
- Written instructions and an emergency contact number
- Follow-up appointment card
Often on packing lists, rarely needed
- "LASIK recovery kit" bundles sold online
- Extra sleep goggles or moisture goggles
- Blue-light glasses
- A second pair of sunglasses "for backup"
- Vitamins or supplements marketed for eye healing
- Any medicated drop bought without a prescription
Kits vary by clinic. Ask your coordinator exactly what is in yours before you pack; the answer is usually a one-line list, and it removes most of the shopping.
What you bring
Glasses that work
You will be out of contacts before the trip and cannot wear them after. If your only glasses are an old prescription, get a current pair before you leave. You will wear them on the flight, at the exam, and in the hours before surgery. After surgery they become a souvenir, so an inexpensive pair is fine.
Sunglasses you like
The clinic's sunglasses are functional. If you want to walk around Medellín or Bogotá on days 4 to 8 without looking like you have just left an operating room, bring a pair you would wear anyway. Good coverage matters more than tint darkness: light comes in from the sides.
One bottle of preservative-free tears
For the flight down and exam day, when dilation and cabin air make eyes uncomfortable. Single-dose vials are easiest to carry. After surgery, use what the clinic gives you and buy the same brand locally if you run low; pharmacies in both cities stock the common ones.
Things that make day 2 easier
- A downloaded audiobook or podcasts. The afternoon after surgery is eyes-closed time.
- Any regular medication, in original packaging, with a note if it is something the surgeon should know about.
- A printed or saved copy of your quote and the clinic's address, in Spanish, to show a taxi driver.
- Button-front or loose tops for surgery day, so you are not pulling a shirt over your face.
The two things worth buying yourself
A hand-held shower head adapter, if your lodging lacks one. Keeping water out of your eyes for a week is much easier with a hose you can aim. It is a small thing and it removes a daily worry.
A second box of preservative-free tears for the flight home and the first weeks after. Post-LASIK dryness is normal and peaks in the first month. Frequent lubrication is the treatment, and you will use more than you expect. Buy it locally before you fly; it is typically cheaper there than at home and you avoid running out at 35,000 feet.
What to leave at home
- Contact lenses and solution. You are done with them.
- Eye makeup. Not allowed for at least a week after surgery, and you should arrive at surgery with none on.
- Perfume and scented products on surgery day. Laser suites ask for none because alcohol vapour can affect the laser environment.
- The assumption that you will read on the flight down. Dilation on exam day is also a reason to bring audio.
Ask the coordinator one question: "What is in the post-op kit, and what do you want me to bring?" Pack from the answer. Everything else on the internet's list is optional.
With the bag sorted, the last pre-trip job is at home, not abroad: arranging follow-up care with your own optometrist before you leave.
Quick answers
Should I bring my own eye drops?
Bring one bottle of preservative-free artificial tears for the flight down and the day of the exam. The medicated drops (antibiotic and steroid) are prescribed and dispensed by the clinic; do not buy or bring those.
Do I need a special pillow or eye mask?
No. The clinic gives you rigid shields for sleeping, which do the job an eye mask cannot (they stop you rubbing). A soft mask on top for light is optional.
Can I bring contact lenses for after?
You will not wear contacts again after successful LASIK, and you must not wear them before. Leave them at home.
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