Can you cook after cataract surgery?
Yes: you can cook as soon as you are back home, on the evening of the cataract operation; only a few tasks are put off for a few days. Three situations call for attention in the first few days: spatter (hot oil, splashes), steam (oven, saucepan, dishwasher) and the reflex of rubbing the eye with unwashed hands. The shield, for its part, stays reserved for the night.
THE ANSWER
Can you cook as soon as you are back home?
Yes. The operation goes through a micro-incision in the cornea that closes without a stitch, and you go home the same day. Preparing a meal puts no strain on this incision. The French national health insurance (Assurance Maladie) sums it up: usual activities from the next day, avoiding any trauma to the eye (ameli.fr). The things to put off are covered in what not to do after cataract surgery.
THE THREE POINTS OF ATTENTION
Hot oil and splashes: spatter
A drop of boiling oil or a jet from the tap reaches the eye before you have had time to blink, and an operated cornea is more sensitive to it. In common practice:
- keep your usual glasses on, even if the correction is no longer accurate, or wear sunglasses: they act as a screen, and no special glasses need to be bought; the shield, for its part, stays reserved for the night, for 7 nights;
- watch a spitting pan from the side, never from above; after the first week, cover whatever is frying and lower the food in with tongs;
- turn the tap on gently, without a strong jet aimed at yourself.
Oven, saucepan, dishwasher: steam and damp heat
Opening an oven, lifting a lid, draining pasta or opening the dishwasher at the end of a cycle sends a puff of hot, humid air into your face. It makes the eye sting, and the reflex that follows is to rub it. Open the oven standing to one side, head turned away, and let the steam clear before leaning in. Dishes at the back of the oven are taken out by bending the knees rather than the back.
Hands, the reflex of rubbing the eye, and eye drops
This is the point that matters most, because the serious risk after cataract surgery, infection inside the eye or endophthalmitis, is rare but real: a meta-analysis of 39 studies covering 5.9 million eyes (Shi, 2022) puts it at 0.092% of operations, and at 0.045% when an antibiotic is injected into the eye at the end of the procedure. The European ESCRS study of 16,603 patients (2007) had shown that the absence of this injection multiplied the risk by almost five, a conclusion taken up by the 2017 Cochrane review (Gower). At the Clinique Sainte-Geneviève, where Dr Tourabaly performs cataract surgery, this injection systematically ends the operation.
That leaves the patient’s share. In the hour after the operation, an OCT study of 34 eyes (Calladine, 2007) saw the inner edges of the incision separate slightly in 41% of cases; in donor eyes, pressing a finger on the cornea drew ink deposited on the surface into three eyes out of seven (Sarayba, 2004). A laboratory model, but one that explains why an operated eye is not rubbed. Hands are the other link: filmed the day after their cataract operation, 54 patients new to eye drops (An, 2014) had not washed their hands before the drop in 78% of cases and touched the eye with the tip in 57% of cases, although most thought they were doing it right. Hence three rules:
- wash your hands with soap before touching your face, and always before an eye drop;
- if the eye stings or waters, wipe the cheek with a clean gauze pad, never the eyelid with your fingers;
- put the drops in before cooking, never between two handlings of food (see the eye drops after the operation).
IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Onions, chilli, spices: can you cut them?
Yes. The tears from an onion are a reflex of the eye’s surface and have no effect on the incision: let them run, wipe the cheek, do not rub. Chilli raises the problem of the fingers: wash your hands with soap before any contact with the face and before the eye drops.
The first few days, then the following weeks
| Period | Possible | To postpone |
|---|---|---|
| The evening of the operation | A simple meal, with your glasses on | Frying, dishes at the back of the oven, washing-up with plenty of running water |
| The first week | Everyday cooking, with the head turned away at the oven and dishwasher | Frying, oven cleaner, hands on the face |
| After the one-month check-up | Usual cooking, depending on the check-up | Nothing in particular |
Rules of thumb from common practice, which the check-up at two days, at the practice, in Cachan or Paris, adapts to your eye. The full timeline is in recovery after cataract surgery; swimming and sport, which have to wait longer, are in sport, swimming pool and sea after the operation.
IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT
Something has spattered into the operated eye: what should I do?
Do not rub. Rinse at length with physiological saline, eyelids open, one single-dose vial after another; failing that, with lukewarm tap water. For a chemical, oven cleaner for example, immediate and prolonged rinsing is the major factor in the outcome: a systematic review (Chau, 2010) finds better results in patients rinsed on the spot, without waiting. Then call the practice on +33 1 45 47 08 11; outside its opening hours, the eye emergency department. Pain that persists, a red eye, vision that drops or clouds over: see an ophthalmologist the same day or, failing that, the eye emergency department (the signs that must not wait).
Cook by trade: when can you go back to work?
A professional kitchen combines everything an operated eye tolerates least: heat, continuous steam, deep fryers, a fast pace, hands constantly in use. Cataract surgery is a medical procedure and sick leave is possible: the French national health insurance (Assurance Maladie) states that the ophthalmologist assesses its length according to the occupation and the course of recovery (ameli.fr); its length is adapted to your activity and discussed at the consultation. Work resumes with protective glasses, away from the frying stations at first; the second eye, operated on one to two weeks after the first, is planned for in the same way.
Frequently asked questions
Can you cook on the evening of the operation?
Yes, a simple meal, with your glasses on. Vision is often still blurred: that evening, avoid frying and dishes at the back of the oven, and get help if you are tired.
Can you do any frying?
The usual practice is to avoid it during the first week: it is the hottest and least predictable spatter. After that, cover the pan, lower the food in with tongs, and keep your glasses on.
Do you need to wear the shield to cook?
No. The shield is reserved for the night, for 7 nights, to guard against rubbing during sleep. During the day, your usual glasses or sunglasses protect the eye.
Hot oil has touched my operated eye: what should I do?
Do not rub it. Rinse with physiological saline or lukewarm water, then call the practice on +33 1 45 47 08 11. If the pain persists, if the eye becomes red or if vision drops, see an ophthalmologist the same day or, failing that, go to the eye emergency department.
I am a cook: will I be given sick leave?
Cataract surgery is a medical procedure and sick leave is possible. Its length depends on your job and on how recovery goes; it is discussed at the consultation, with no length set in advance.
Consultations in Cachan, in Paris 13 and at the Sorbonne Saint-Michel practice (Paris 5th) · Tel. +33 1 45 47 08 11
Scientific sources
- Gower EW, et al. Perioperative antibiotics for prevention of acute endophthalmitis after cataract surgery. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017. PMID 28192644
- Endophthalmitis Study Group, ESCRS. Prophylaxis of postoperative endophthalmitis following cataract surgery: results of the ESCRS multicenter study and identification of risk factors. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2007. PMID 17531690
- Shi SL, et al. Incidence of endophthalmitis after phacoemulsification cataract surgery: a meta-analysis. Int J Ophthalmol. 2022. PMID 35186695
- Calladine D, Packard R. Clear corneal incision architecture in the immediate postoperative period evaluated using optical coherence tomography. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2007. PMID 17662437
- Sarayba MA, et al. Inflow of ocular surface fluid through clear corneal cataract incisions: a laboratory model. Am J Ophthalmol. 2004. PMID 15289128
- An JA, et al. Evaluation of eyedrop administration by inexperienced patients after cataract surgery. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2014. PMID 25248295
- Chau JP, et al. Eye irrigation for patients with ocular chemical burns: a systematic review. JBI Libr Syst Rev. 2010. PMID 27819881
- Assurance Maladie. Le traitement de la cataracte : soins et activités après l’opération. ameli.fr, accessed 24 October 2026.
This article is intended for information purposes and does not replace a medical consultation. Indications, expected benefits and risks depend on each individual situation. For any question about your vision, consult an ophthalmologist.
Written and reviewed by Dr Moïse Tourabaly, ophthalmic refractive surgeon — former chef de clinique (Quinze-Vingts National Eye Hospital).
Last updated: October 24, 2026
