When can I use screens and read after YAG laser capsulotomy?

There is no published restriction on screens or reading after a posterior capsulotomy. The AAO's position on this procedure is that once your vision is clear you can usually do all of your normal daily activities, and that typically there are no activity restrictions. Reading does not stress the capsule opening or raise any risk of it reclosing.

What holds people back on day 0 is dilation. Wide pupils blur near vision and make screens uncomfortably bright, and that usually lasts several hours. Turning brightness down, enlarging text, and wearing sunglasses indoors helps if you need to look at something. By the next morning most people can read normally, since an AAO ophthalmologist writes that vision usually improves by the next day, with the AAO patient page describing fuller improvement in about 48 hours.

One thing to expect: floaters are much more obvious against a bright white page or screen than against a busy background. An AAO ophthalmologist notes that seeing some floaters in the first week is normal and that the procedure rarely leaves lasting significant floaters. Noticing them more while reading is not a sign the treatment failed. A sudden shower of many new floaters, especially with flashes, is different and needs a same-day call.