malcolm
& Clementine the Cat
- Messages
- 9,624
- Location
- Bedford UK
I've spent the entire week going in and out of the eye hospital. Thought I'd share the experience so you guys take as much care of your eyes as I plan to:
I injured my eye a couple of months ago. It swelled up, and I couldn't open it, but it got better after a couple of days and I didn't get it looked at. Since then the eye has been sore in the morning occasionally. Last weekend it went all swollen again and I spent Monday sitting in hospital waiting rooms.
The eye doctor was great. In went the green eye drops and he diagnosed a corneal abrasion. (his diagnosis was actually more wordy but that was the jist). It had healed, but the new skin hadn't taken, and had been sticking to my eyelid at night and pulling off.
The doctor did just the same as you or I would do with bad paint on a car. Out came the scraper and he scraped the surface off my cornea. The anesthetic eye drops were great, but once they wore off the pain was incredible. I spent the whole night sitting on the floor with my head hanging downwards, and had no sleep at all. (The feeling is a lot like arc eye where the cornea gets sunburned.)
Next day I went back in to the eye clinic, the doctor took a look, decided he liked some of the new skin, but other bits hadn't repaired too well and would need scraping off again.....
Next day all was well, and I was discharged with a prescription of eye drops for the next 3 months.
The week wasn't without amusement. Hand eye co-ordination hasn't been my strong point, and a lot of tea bags have ended up on the floor rather than in the cup. I've enjoyed some rather strong pain killers which were a lot like cannabis. Also I am really easily bored. I couldn't work on the computer or on cars, so I decided to re-decorate the house while half blind and wearing sun glasses. I shall have to wait to see what it looks like.
I was lucky in that my eye should be OK by next week and shouldn't have any long term damage, but leaving the eye for so long could easily have caused scar tissue to form. Here is home helpful eye advice:
The obvious: wear expensive goggles without direct air vents while doing any grinding, drilling, or scraping rusty bits off cars.
Go to the doctor if you damage an eye and it goes swollen for more than a few hours. They'll prescribe Chloramphenicol which stops infection and lubricates the eye.
And finally, wear goggles while gardening. I touched my eye against a bush - that's what caused my problem.
If the worst comes to the worst and you need to spend a week off work being tortured, then go to the eye clinic in Bedford. There is an absolutely wonderful Aussie nurse there who was really kind to me. I'm planning to drop in with a pressie to say thanks.
I injured my eye a couple of months ago. It swelled up, and I couldn't open it, but it got better after a couple of days and I didn't get it looked at. Since then the eye has been sore in the morning occasionally. Last weekend it went all swollen again and I spent Monday sitting in hospital waiting rooms.
The eye doctor was great. In went the green eye drops and he diagnosed a corneal abrasion. (his diagnosis was actually more wordy but that was the jist). It had healed, but the new skin hadn't taken, and had been sticking to my eyelid at night and pulling off.
The doctor did just the same as you or I would do with bad paint on a car. Out came the scraper and he scraped the surface off my cornea. The anesthetic eye drops were great, but once they wore off the pain was incredible. I spent the whole night sitting on the floor with my head hanging downwards, and had no sleep at all. (The feeling is a lot like arc eye where the cornea gets sunburned.)
Next day I went back in to the eye clinic, the doctor took a look, decided he liked some of the new skin, but other bits hadn't repaired too well and would need scraping off again.....
Next day all was well, and I was discharged with a prescription of eye drops for the next 3 months.
The week wasn't without amusement. Hand eye co-ordination hasn't been my strong point, and a lot of tea bags have ended up on the floor rather than in the cup. I've enjoyed some rather strong pain killers which were a lot like cannabis. Also I am really easily bored. I couldn't work on the computer or on cars, so I decided to re-decorate the house while half blind and wearing sun glasses. I shall have to wait to see what it looks like.
I was lucky in that my eye should be OK by next week and shouldn't have any long term damage, but leaving the eye for so long could easily have caused scar tissue to form. Here is home helpful eye advice:
The obvious: wear expensive goggles without direct air vents while doing any grinding, drilling, or scraping rusty bits off cars.
Go to the doctor if you damage an eye and it goes swollen for more than a few hours. They'll prescribe Chloramphenicol which stops infection and lubricates the eye.
And finally, wear goggles while gardening. I touched my eye against a bush - that's what caused my problem.
If the worst comes to the worst and you need to spend a week off work being tortured, then go to the eye clinic in Bedford. There is an absolutely wonderful Aussie nurse there who was really kind to me. I'm planning to drop in with a pressie to say thanks.