UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

hiya everyone
i am scheduled to have a dalk on my right eye and wondered how long a recovery time would be and would it be advisable for me to carry on working in B&Q. any info would be a great help

Hi Waseem

Regarding recovery, everyone is different from 6 - 18 months until vision is stabe for correction with either glasses or lenses. Recovery before going back to work is best to be guided by your consultant and may well be dependent on the type of work you do at B&Q. For example if you are around dusty building materials or wood chips, stacking shelves you miht be advised to take longer off. If you are customer services or checkout based you might be able to return earlier.

Your employer must make reasonable adjustments for you during the recovery period to ensure no damage due to work occurs to the graft.

Regards

Gareth

Just in case anyone takes Gareth's reply as meaning going back to work can take 6-18 mths (though I'm sure you wouldn't) people take anything from 2 wks to a few months before returning to work - as Gareth says, it really depends on the type of work. Some also manage to negotiate shorter hours for a few weeks after returning to work, which can be helpful.
Anne

thanks both of you have been very helpful. i work weekends at b&q on ceckouts so i was just thinking because it can get dusty at times cheers for the replys

hi

I had my graft 3 weeks ago and am not back at work yet. I find it hard to focus on things at the moment. I work in an office environment so I wouldn't suggest going back to work in a dusty environment. you will find your eye may become dry all the tiome and become irritable. I have done a diary on my graft that may be worth a look. It is www.mycorneatransplant.blogspot.com.

CHeck it out. Hopefully will have some usful things on there for you.

All the best

If you are worried about the atmosphere in your workplace, why not ask about having an ionizer next to your till?

All the best.

Andrew

Hi Waseem

I was due to have a DALK a month ago but ended up with a PK in the end due to the extent of the scarring I had. I too work in an office and 5 weeks on I am looking at going back on a staggered return to work building up my hours to full time again gradually. At B&Q are you expected to lift heavy things at all on the tills? As that would be a no no for a while.

When are you due to be operated? I have also written a Blog if you want to take a look http://lucyscorneatransplant.blogspot.com/

Good luck with everything

Lucy

You can get safety glasses which are very good at keeping dust out of your eyes, I wear them all the time at work and they are tinted too, so ideal if you are sensitive to light post op which some people are for the first couple of weeks.

After about four weeks post graft I was back doing a summer job on the local farm and I never found the dust a problem but we need to remember we all react differently post graft.