Is a gritty feeling normal after cataract surgery?

What's normal

The American Academy of Ophthalmology describes this as discomfort or a foreign body sensation, where it feels like there is sand in the eye or that the eye feels scratchy. It comes from the small incision and the surface of the eye healing, and the AAO says it should heal within a week or so.

If you also have dry eye it can last longer. The AAO says the sensation can persist up to three months in people with dry eye, because the corneal nerves that were disrupted during surgery generally take about three months to heal. The AAO separately lists a scratchy or gritty feeling like something is in your eye as a classic dry eye symptom.

Strongest in the first 2 to 3 days, usually gone within a week, up to about three months if dry eye is involved.

When it stops being normal

Grittiness that keeps getting worse, or that comes with growing pain, a very red eye, or blurring vision, is not the normal pattern. The National Eye Institute says to contact your doctor about bad pain that will not go away even with medicine or very red eyes.

Do not rub the eye to relieve the feeling. The American Academy of Ophthalmology instructs patients not to rub or press on the eye after surgery. Ask your surgeon before adding artificial tears, since the AAO mentions preservative free artificial tears for mild dryness but your drop regimen is your surgeon's call.