What Recovery After Orbit Surgery Involves: Swelling, Double Vision Checks and Eye Drops

The mirror is the hardest part on day two. One woman described lifting a cold pack from her face, expecting to see herself, and finding instead a purple, glossy eyelid that would not open past a slit. Nobody had lied to her; the surgeon had said the swelling would be dramatic. Hearing it and seeing it are different things.

Orbit surgery recovery has a rhythm that few people are prepared for. The orbit is the bony socket that holds the eyeball, its muscles, its nerves and a cushion of fat, and any operation inside that tight space stirs up tissue that has nowhere to spread except outward into the lids. What follows is a predictable sequence: swelling, then a slow unveiling, then a period of careful watching for how the two eyes work together.

This explainer walks through what that sequence usually looks like, why it happens, and which changes deserve a same-day phone call to your care team.

What actually happens during orbit surgery

The phrase covers several different operations that share one location. The orbit is a pyramid of thin bone, roughly the size of a large hen’s egg, with the eyeball sitting near its opening and the optic nerve leaving through the back. Surgeons who work here are usually oculoplastic specialists, eye surgeons trained in the eyelids and socket, sometimes alongside ear, nose and throat or maxillofacial colleagues.

Three procedures account for most of what patients search for. Orbital decompression removes part of one or more bony walls, or some of the fat, so that a crowded socket has more room. It is most often done for thyroid eye disease, the autoimmune inflammation linked to Graves’ disease that swells the eye muscles and fat and pushes the eye forward, a change called proptosis (Mayo Clinic). Orbital fracture repair rebuilds a broken floor or inner wall, often with a thin implant, after a blow to the face. Orbital biopsy or tumor removal takes tissue from a growth so that it can be examined.

Access is usually through a hidden route: an incision inside the lower eyelid, a fold of the upper lid, or the nose with an endoscope. That matters for recovery, because the skin cut is small while the work underneath is not. Tissue is lifted, bone is removed or repositioned, and the muscles that move the eye are handled or simply displaced by the new anatomy.

General anesthesia is the norm, and many people stay one night, though same-day discharge is common for smaller procedures. Everything that follows in the recovery period flows from a single fact: the surgeon has changed the shape of a small, closed box, and its contents need time to find their new positions.

Who is usually offered orbit surgery, and who is asked to wait

Timing is one of the most misunderstood parts of this field. In thyroid eye disease, most surgeons operate only once the inflammation has been quiet for a sustained period, because operating on actively inflamed tissue tends to produce unpredictable results and more swelling afterward. Mayo Clinic describes this sequence plainly: the active phase is usually managed with medicines and supportive care, and corrective surgery is considered later, after the disease has stabilized (Mayo Clinic). The wait can feel long, often many months, and it is deliberate rather than a delay.

The exception is urgent decompression when the crowded socket presses on the optic nerve and threatens sight, or when the cornea is exposed because the lids cannot close. In those situations the team may recommend operating during the active phase, accepting a stormier recovery to protect vision.

Orbital fractures follow different logic. Many heal without an operation. Surgery is typically considered when the eye has sunk back into the socket (a change called enophthalmos), when a muscle is trapped in the break and causing persistent double vision, or when the defect is large enough that sinking is expected later. Surgeons often wait a week or two for the initial swelling to settle so they can judge the true eye position, unless a muscle is trapped, which is more urgent, especially in children.

People are commonly asked to wait, or to prepare first, when thyroid hormone levels are unstable, when they smoke (smoking worsens thyroid eye disease and slows healing), when blood pressure or diabetes is poorly controlled, or when a blood-thinning medicine needs a plan agreed with the prescribing clinician. None of these are refusals. They are the groundwork that makes the recovery described below more likely to go smoothly, and the treating team weighs each one individually.

The first 24 hours of orbit surgery recovery

Waking up is usually less frightening than people fear. Vision in the operated eye is often blurry from ointment and swelling rather than absent, and nurses will check almost immediately that you can see light, count fingers or read a card. This first check is not a formality. Bleeding inside the socket after surgery is rare but serious, and a sudden fall in vision with rising pressure is the sign teams watch for most closely in the early hours.

Expect a cold compress routine to start straight away. Cooling narrows small blood vessels and blunts the first wave of swelling; most teams ask for compresses on and off for the first two to three days, never frozen directly against skin. Sleeping with the head raised on two or three pillows uses gravity in the same way.

Some oozing of blood-stained fluid from the incision or the nose is common after decompression through the sinuses, and the eye itself may look red. A patch is sometimes placed for the first night, sometimes not; surgeons increasingly prefer to leave the eye visible so that vision can be checked.

Pain in this window is usually described as a deep ache or pressure rather than a sharp pain, and it is managed with whatever the anesthetic and surgical team have prescribed. Nausea after general anesthesia is the other frequent complaint, and vomiting is worth reporting because straining raises pressure in the socket.

Two instructions are almost universal and worth taking seriously from hour one: do not blow your nose, and sneeze with your mouth open. Both protect the freshly thinned or repaired bone from a sudden puff of air being forced into the orbit.

Why the swelling looks worse before it looks better

The eyelids are among the thinnest skin on the body, stretched over loose tissue with almost no fat to hold fluid back. Surgery a centimeter beneath them releases inflammatory fluid and a small amount of blood, and the lids simply fill like a soft balloon. Swelling typically builds over the first two to three days, which is why day two or three often looks worse than day one, and it then recedes gradually over the following weeks. Exact timelines vary widely by procedure and person, and the published patient literature offers ranges rather than promises; your surgeon’s own experience with your operation is the best guide.

Bruising follows its own clock. Blood under the skin changes color as it breaks down, from purple to green to yellow, and it tends to slide downward with gravity, so a cheek may bruise even when the incision is in the upper lid. This drift surprises people and is harmless.

The white of the eye can also swell, a jelly-like puffiness called chemosis that sometimes bulges over the lower lid edge. It looks alarming, feels gritty, and usually settles as lubricating drops and time do their work.

Several practical measures genuinely help and are widely recommended: cold compresses early, then warm compresses later once the surgeon agrees; sleeping propped up; avoiding heavy lifting, bending and vigorous exercise for the period your team specifies; and keeping salt intake moderate, since salty meals can visibly puff the lids the next morning. Gentle walking is encouraged from the first day because it reduces clot risk without raising pressure in the head.

Residual firmness in the lower lid, a slight fullness that persists after the obvious swelling has gone, can linger for several months. Surgeons usually advise waiting until this has fully resolved before judging the final appearance.

How painful is orbital surgery?

Honest answers here are more reassuring than vague ones. Most people report that orbit surgery is less painful than they expected, and that pressure, tightness and a heavy, bruised feeling dominate over sharp pain. The socket has relatively few pain fibers compared with the skin and teeth, and the incisions are small.

Where pain does appear, it usually follows one of a few patterns. A deep ache behind the eye in the first two or three days is common after decompression, as the tissues settle into new space. A headache or sinus pressure can accompany operations that pass through the nose. After fracture repair, tenderness along the cheekbone and upper teeth is typical because the nerve that supplies that area runs through the orbital floor.

Pain management is decided by the anesthetic and surgical team and tailored to the person. Most plans rely on simple analgesics, with a short course of stronger medicine reserved for the first days if needed; the prescribing clinician sets the type and duration and should be the one to adjust it. Some teams ask people to avoid certain over-the-counter anti-inflammatory tablets for a period because they can increase bruising, so it is worth asking rather than assuming.

What matters most is the trend. Discomfort that improves day by day is the expected course. Pain that suddenly escalates, especially if it arrives with new tightness around the eye, nausea, or any dimming of vision, is a different matter and is covered in the red-flag section later in this article. That pattern can signal bleeding in the socket, which needs same-day assessment.

Sleep is often the underrated remedy. Fatigue after general anesthesia is real, and many people find that the third and fourth days are as much about tiredness as about pain.

Double vision after orbital surgery: why it happens

Double vision, known medically as diplopia, means seeing two images of a single object, and it is one of the most searched worries about orbit surgery for good reason. Each eye is moved by six small muscles that must be perfectly coordinated with their partners on the other side. Anything that changes the position of one eyeball, or swells one muscle, breaks that coordination and the brain receives two misaligned pictures (MedlinePlus).

After decompression, the eye moves backward into the newly created space. That is the intended result, but the muscles that were stretched around a forward-sitting eye now have different geometry, and the swollen, stiff muscles of thyroid eye disease do not always adapt evenly. New or worsened double vision after decompression is a recognized outcome that surgeons discuss beforehand; its frequency varies with the technique and with how many walls are removed, and reported rates in the literature range widely, so ask your surgeon for figures from their own approach rather than relying on a single number.

After fracture repair, double vision often exists before surgery because a muscle or the fat around it has been trapped in the break. Freeing it usually helps over time, but the bruised muscle can take weeks to move freely again.

Early double vision, in the first days, is frequently due to swelling alone and tends to fade as the swelling does. Double vision that persists once the swelling has gone is assessed more carefully and, if it does not settle over several months, can often be managed with prism glasses or a later eye-muscle operation. The NHS notes that double vision has many causes and that any new double vision should be assessed by a clinician rather than ignored (NHS).

What the double vision checks involve

The checks are simple, painless and repetitive, and they are repeated because the picture changes as healing progresses. At each follow-up visit an orthoptist or ophthalmologist, specialists in eye movement and alignment, will ask you to follow a light or a small target with both eyes into nine positions of gaze: straight ahead, up, down, left, right and the four diagonals. They watch for an eye that lags, overshoots or refuses to travel fully into a corner.

A cover test follows. One eye is covered and uncovered while you fix on a target; if the uncovered eye jumps to take up fixation, the eyes were not aligned. Prisms of increasing strength may be held in front of one eye to measure how much correction brings the two images together. Some clinics chart your field of single vision on a graph, a map of where you see one image and where you see two, so that improvement can be tracked visit to visit.

Eye position is measured too. An exophthalmometer, a small ruler-like device rested against the bony rim of the socket, measures how far forward each eye sits in millimeters. After decompression this reading is expected to fall; after fracture repair it should stay stable rather than sinking.

Between visits, you can help by noticing patterns rather than diagnosing. Is the double vision worse looking up, or reading, or at distance? Does it vanish when one eye is closed (true double vision almost always does)? Does it come and go with tiredness? These observations give the clinic useful information.

Driving deserves a direct word. Anyone with double vision should not drive until a clinician has confirmed it is safe, and local licensing rules may require that certain vision changes be reported.

Eye drops after orbit surgery: what each type does

Drops are the part of orbit surgery recovery that people underestimate before and overthink afterward. Most regimens combine two or three categories, each with a job, and the prescribing surgeon decides which are needed, how often and for how long.

Lubricating drops and ointments come first. Surgery, swelling and an eye that does not yet close fully leave the cornea, the clear front window of the eye, exposed and dry. Artificial tears in the daytime and a thicker ointment at night keep that surface wet and protect it from the tiny abrasions that cause grittiness and blurred vision. In thyroid eye disease, dryness was probably a companion long before surgery, and lubricants often continue well into recovery.

Antibiotic drops or ointment are frequently prescribed for a short period to reduce the chance of infection at the incision or on the eye surface. Anti-inflammatory drops, usually a steroid class, may be added to calm redness and chemosis; because that class can raise pressure inside the eye in some people, the team will typically check eye pressure at a follow-up visit while they are being used.

Technique makes a difference. Wash your hands, tilt the head back, pull the lower lid gently down to form a pocket, and let the drop fall into that pocket rather than onto the eyeball. Close the eye for a moment rather than blinking hard. Leave a few minutes between different drops so one does not wash out the other, and use ointment last because it forms a barrier.

Never stop, swap or add a drop, including supermarket redness relievers, without checking with the surgical team. Stopping a steroid drop abruptly, in particular, can cause a rebound in inflammation, and the tapering schedule belongs to the clinician who prescribed it.

Orbital decompression recovery time, week by week

Timelines below are typical patterns described in patient guidance from major centers, not guarantees, and two people having the same operation can sit at opposite ends of every range. The Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic both emphasize that thyroid eye disease surgery is staged over time and that final results are judged only after healing is complete (Cleveland Clinic; Mayo Clinic).

Period	What is commonly experienced	What is usually checked or advised
Days 1–3	Peak swelling and bruising, blurred vision from ointment, deep ache, possible bloody nasal ooze	Vision checks, cold compresses, head elevation, no nose-blowing, prescribed drops begin
Days 4–14	Swelling begins to recede, bruising changes color, double vision may be present, tiredness common	First follow-up visit, wound check, eye-movement assessment, gradual return to light activity
Weeks 2–6	Most visible swelling gone, eye position settling backward, double vision improving or stabilizing	Exophthalmometer measurements, drops tapered as directed, return to work for many desk roles
Months 2–6	Residual lid firmness resolving, numbness fading, eye position reaches its settled state	Decision on whether eye-muscle or eyelid surgery is needed as later stages

Return to work varies with the job. People in seated roles often return within two to three weeks once swelling allows comfortable screen use, while heavy manual work, contact sports and swimming are typically deferred longer, on the surgeon’s advice, to protect the healing bone and avoid infection.

Flying is usually discussed individually. Pressure changes in the cabin can be uncomfortable when the sinuses have been opened, and many surgeons ask people to wait at least a couple of weeks and to have a follow-up arranged before travelling.

Orbital fracture surgery recovery: how it differs

A repaired fracture heals on a different schedule from a decompression, because the goal is to restore anatomy rather than change it. The floor of the orbit is a sheet of bone thinner than a fingernail, and when it breaks, fat and sometimes muscle drop toward the sinus below. Repair lifts that tissue back and lays a thin implant across the gap so that it cannot fall again.

Two sensations dominate this recovery. The first is numbness of the cheek, upper lip and upper teeth on the injured side. The nerve that supplies these areas runs in a groove along the orbital floor and is bruised by the injury, and often again by the surgery. Sensation commonly returns over weeks to months, sometimes with tingling or an odd sensitivity to cold on the way back, and a small proportion of people are left with a patch of permanent numbness.

The second is stiffness of upward gaze. The muscle that pulls the eye upward lies closest to the floor and is the one most often bruised or trapped. Looking up in the early weeks can feel effortful and may produce double vision even after a technically successful repair.

Nose-blowing restrictions are, if anything, stricter here, because air forced into the socket can push through the repair site and swell the lids abruptly. Sneezing with an open mouth and avoiding straw use are sensible for the period the surgeon advises.

Fracture patients are also recovering from the injury itself, which may involve other facial bones, a concussion or dental damage. Recovery planning is therefore shared between several teams, and it is reasonable to ask who is coordinating your follow-up and which clinic to call for which problem.

How risky is orbital surgery?

Any honest answer has to separate the common and minor from the rare and serious. Common effects, which most people experience to some degree, include swelling, bruising, temporary blurred vision, dryness, numbness and tiredness. These are expected parts of healing rather than complications.

Complications that occur in a minority include infection at the incision or in the sinus, bleeding that requires a return to theatre, persistent double vision, asymmetry between the two eyes, a change in the position or shape of the lower lid, and prolonged tearing or a blocked tear duct after operations near the inner corner. Many of these can be managed with further treatment, and several settle on their own with time.

The rare, serious risk is loss of vision, usually from bleeding behind the eye that compresses the optic nerve, or from direct injury to the nerve or its blood supply. Reported rates across published series are low, generally quoted as well under one in a hundred, but they are not zero, and this is the risk that drives the intensive vision checks in the first hours and the instruction to call immediately if sight dims. Operations through the nose carry an additional small risk of leakage of the fluid that surrounds the brain, because the roof of the ethmoid sinus is also the floor of the skull.

Risk is not fixed. It rises with active inflammation, smoking, uncontrolled diabetes or blood pressure, and blood-thinning medicines that have not been planned for, and it falls with experienced hands and careful preparation. The most useful question to ask a surgeon is not “how risky is this in general” but “what have you seen in your own patients having this operation, and how would you recognize and handle it if it happened to me.”

Is orbital decompression surgery worth it?

The question is really two questions: does the operation do what it claims, and is that worth the recovery described above. On the first, the mechanism is direct and well established. Removing bone or fat creates space, the eye moves back, exposure of the cornea reduces, and pressure on the optic nerve is relieved. Mayo Clinic lists orbital decompression among the standard treatments for thyroid eye disease when the socket has become crowded enough to threaten sight or to leave the eye unprotected, and describes it as a step usually taken after the inflammatory phase has calmed (Mayo Clinic).

The second question has no universal answer, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. What the evidence supports is a structured way of thinking. For people whose vision is threatened, the balance leans clearly toward surgery because the alternative is potential permanent sight loss. For people with exposure problems that cannot be controlled with lubricants and lid measures, the balance also generally favors surgery. For people whose primary concern is appearance in a disease that has burnt out, the calculation is more personal: the eye position gained must be weighed against weeks of swelling, the possibility of new double vision that may need a further operation, and the small serious risks.

Systematic reviews of decompression techniques generally report meaningful reductions in eye prominence with all common approaches, alongside a variable rate of new double vision that is higher when more walls are removed. Because those figures depend heavily on technique and patient selection, this article does not quote a single percentage; ask your surgeon which review or audit their numbers come from.

People who describe the decision as worthwhile in hindsight tend to be those who understood the staging beforehand, expected the swelling, and had realistic goals agreed with the team.

What people often get wrong about orbit surgery recovery

Myths cluster around this operation because so few people know anyone who has had it. Five deserve correcting.

“Day one shows what to expect.” It does not. Swelling peaks around the second or third day, and judging the result from the first mirror check, or worse, from the first week, misleads almost everyone. Surgeons generally ask people to reserve judgment for months.

“Double vision means something went wrong.” Early double vision is usually swelling, and even persistent double vision after decompression is a known, discussed outcome with established next steps rather than a sign of error. It is a reason for assessment, not for panic.

“More rest is always better.” Lying flat and still actually worsens facial swelling and raises clot risk. The evidence-based middle path is gentle walking from day one, head raised in bed, and avoidance of straining rather than of movement.

“Once the eye looks better I can stop the drops.” Lubricants protect a cornea that may still not be closing fully at night, and anti-inflammatory drops have taper schedules for a reason. Any change belongs to the prescribing clinician.

“Decompression fixes thyroid eye disease.” It treats the crowding, and it does that well. It does not treat the underlying autoimmune process, which is managed with thyroid control and, where needed, medicines chosen by the endocrine and eye teams, and it is often the first of two or three staged operations, with eye-muscle and eyelid surgery following later (Cleveland Clinic).

One more, quieter error: assuming that the fracture that “healed on its own” needs no follow-up. Late sinking of the eye can appear weeks after injury, which is why teams often review non-operated fractures too.

Questions to ask your care team

A good consultation leaves you with fewer surprises during recovery. Write your questions down; swelling, drops and tiredness make it hard to remember them afterward. The following are worth raising, and none of them is presumptuous.

• Which walls or tissues will you remove or repair, and how does that choice affect my chance of double vision afterward?
• How many nights should I plan to stay, and who checks my vision during the first night?
• What swelling and bruising pattern do you usually see with this exact approach, and roughly how long before I can judge the result?
• Which drops will I use, in what order, and who do I contact if I run out or a drop stings badly?
• Are there any of my regular medicines, including blood thinners, supplements or anti-inflammatory painkillers, that need a plan before or after surgery?
• What activities are restricted, for how long, and when is it safe to fly, drive, swim or return to exercise?
• How will double vision be checked and how often, and what are the options if it persists?
• Is this likely to be the only operation, or the first of a staged plan including eye-muscle or eyelid surgery?
• What signs should make me call the same day, and what number do I call at night or at the weekend?
• If I have thyroid eye disease, how will my endocrine team and my eye team share my care after surgery?

Bring a companion if you can. Two sets of ears catch more, and someone who has heard the plan directly is a calmer presence at home on day two, when the mirror is at its least kind. Ask, too, whether written recovery instructions are provided; most centers have them, and they settle many small worries before a phone call is needed.

When to call your doctor

Most of orbit surgery recovery is watchful patience, but a handful of changes need same-day contact with the surgical team or, if you cannot reach them, emergency care. MedlinePlus lists sudden vision loss and severe eye pain among the eye emergencies that should never wait for a routine appointment (MedlinePlus).

Call immediately, day or night, if you notice any of the following:

• Any decrease in vision in the operated eye, including dimming, a curtain or shadow, or a sudden loss of color brightness compared with the other eye
• Rapidly increasing pain, tightness or pressure behind the eye, particularly if the lids become hard and the eye looks pushed forward
• Sudden new swelling, especially after a sneeze, cough or nose-blow
• Clear, watery fluid dripping from the nose that tastes salty or metallic, or a persistent headache worse when upright after surgery through the nose
• Fever, spreading redness and warmth of the lids, or thick discharge from the wound or the eye
• Bleeding from the nose or incision that does not stop with gentle pressure
• New or markedly worse double vision after it had been improving
• Calf pain, swelling of one leg, chest pain or breathlessness, which can indicate a blood clot after any operation

Contact the team within a day or two, rather than urgently, for pain that is not controlled by the prescribed plan, a drop that causes intense stinging or a rash, grittiness that lubricants are not helping, or a lower lid that seems to be pulling away from the eye as swelling settles.

Never feel that a call is a nuisance. Surgical teams would far rather examine a swollen eye that turns out to be normal healing than hear about a dimming of vision the following morning. Every decision about treatment, including whether an urgent return to theatre is needed, rests with the clinicians who know your operation.

Frequently asked questions

How painful is orbital surgery?

Most people describe pressure, tightness and a deep bruised ache rather than sharp pain, and many report it hurt less than they expected. Discomfort usually peaks in the first two or three days and then eases steadily. Pain that suddenly escalates, especially with dimming vision or nausea, is not typical healing and should prompt an immediate call to the surgical team.

How long does orbital decompression recovery time usually take?

Visible swelling and bruising commonly settle over two to six weeks, while eye position, residual lid firmness and numbness can take several months to reach their final state. Return to desk work is often possible within two to three weeks, with heavier activity deferred longer on the surgeon’s advice. Individual timelines vary widely, so treat these as typical ranges rather than promises.

Is double vision after orbital surgery permanent?

Often not. Double vision in the first days is usually due to swelling and fades as it settles. Double vision that persists once the tissues have healed is a recognized outcome of decompression and of some fracture repairs; it is measured at follow-up and, if it does not resolve over several months, can frequently be managed with prism glasses or a later eye-muscle operation.

How risky is orbital surgery?

Common effects such as swelling, bruising, dryness and numbness are expected rather than complications. Less common problems include infection, persistent double vision, lid position changes and bleeding requiring a return to theatre. Loss of vision is rare but serious, which is why vision is checked closely in the first hours. Ask your surgeon for figures from their own experience with your specific operation.

Is orbital decompression surgery worth it?

It depends on why it is being considered. When the optic nerve is compressed or the cornea cannot be protected, the balance generally favors surgery to protect sight. When the main concern is appearance in stable disease, the gain in eye position must be weighed personally against weeks of swelling and the chance of new double vision. That judgment belongs to you and your treating team together.

What does orbital fracture surgery recovery involve?

It involves swelling and bruising like other orbit operations, plus two features specific to fractures: numbness of the cheek, upper lip and teeth that usually improves over weeks to months, and stiffness looking upward while the bruised muscle recovers. Nose-blowing restrictions are strict to protect the implant, and follow-up checks confirm the eye is not sinking back.

Why can't I blow my nose after orbit surgery?

The orbit shares thin walls with the sinuses, and decompression or fracture repair either thins or reconstructs those walls. Blowing the nose forces air at high pressure into the sinuses, and it can push through into the socket, causing sudden swelling and, rarely, more serious problems. Sneezing with the mouth open and avoiding straws follow the same logic for the period your surgeon specifies.

How long do I need to use eye drops after orbit surgery?

Antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops are usually short courses measured in days to a few weeks and tapered on the prescriber’s schedule, while lubricating drops and night ointment often continue longer, particularly in thyroid eye disease where dryness predates the surgery. Never stop or change a drop without asking the team, because abrupt stopping of a steroid drop can cause rebound inflammation.

When can I drive after orbital surgery?

Not until a clinician has confirmed that your vision, including the absence of troublesome double vision, is safe for driving, and not while taking any pain medicine that impairs alertness. Many people wait until after their first follow-up visit. Licensing rules in some regions require certain vision changes to be reported, so ask your team specifically about driving before you leave the clinic.

Will I need more than one operation for thyroid eye disease?

Often, yes. Decompression is frequently the first of a staged sequence, followed if needed by eye-muscle surgery to correct double vision and then eyelid surgery to adjust lid position, each performed only after the previous stage has healed. Not everyone needs every stage. Your surgical and endocrine teams will outline the likely plan before the first operation.

References

• Cleveland Clinic: Thyroid eye disease
• MedlinePlus: Double vision
• NHS: Double vision
• MedlinePlus: Eye emergencies

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.