Anime Eye

November 13, 2011

I had been experiencing some weird pressure in my eye and had had about three days of fuzzy-headed headaches, and decided I was going to need to get in and get myself checked out. I'm not one to run off to the doctor at every ache and pain, but I'm not about to mess around with my eyes. Plus, I made the mistake of going to Dr. Internet to diagnose my pain, and his news was not good. I also bounced my symptoms off of my sis-in-law, who works in an optometrists' office. She, too, thought it would be a good idea to be proactive and have an eye exam. Since Friday was Veteran's Day and I had no school, I had a little time on my hands to kill in a waiting room.

The last time I had my eyes checked was some fifteen years ago. I'm 44 years old, so I figured I was well-past needing a basic exam, let alone one that would yield a tumor or glaucoma (as Dr. Internet warned was the probable cause). They first checked my vision, and I was honestly pretty thrilled to hear that my vision is still 20/20, and they said I didn't need corrective lenses for reading. I don't have a lot going for me, but dang it, I still have excellent vision.

Next up, they got down to the real business at hand. Since I had only been experiencing pressure in one eye, they dilated that eye for the doctor to take a gander at up close and personal. I breathed a little easier at each, "Looks healthy....looks normal...everything clear here..." A clean bill of health for my little eyeball...almost. He detected a little bacterial infection that was exacerbating a little dry eye situation--easily handled with a week's round of prescription drops. That minor infection was causing a little swelling, triggering the pressure that was definitely NOT a tumor or glaucoma. I wasn't even going to have to wear a pirate eye patch for a few weeks, as my amused husband predicted. What I was left with instead of the pirate patch was several hours of one--ONE--crazily dilated eye. I looked like half an anime character. Or that strangely bug-eyed rodent in the movie Bedtime Story (or half of him, anyway).