Tylenol for the Eyeball

Good Day on this Wonderful Wednesday the 24th of March

Well, I had not planned this post but due to my last week and the things I learned, I just couldn't resist the title.

So here is an eye tale.

I woke up Thursday last week with my eyelid stuck to my eyeball which leads to corneal abrasions. I was uncomfortable but know our eyes heal fast, so I'd be good by in the morning. Was I ever WRONG that time. Yes, I was wrong. On Friday, I woke up to total light blindness in the right eye with sympathetic reaction in the left eye.

Now 2 of my children go to a school out of our zone and I have to drive them 6.5 miles to school. HaHaHaHa tears, tears, tears, HAHAHA

I kept everyone home from school. They should all be overjoyed RIGHT ?

WRONG AGAIN dern just knew I had that one right- my oldest - the girl child -oops young woman- pitches a bloody, hissy fit that she just has to be at school, she has 3 tests and 2 projects to turn in and she can't make any of it up, there are no make ups, blah, blah, blah.

Against my better judgment, with a Sunflower Bandana, pirate style over my right eye which wasn't working out to well and just ended up covering the eye with my hand, hi ho off to school we go.

Thank goodness everyone on the road survived our trip to school. I had the boys still with me to be my right eye. As we got to a shopping center, at the intersection where I have to turn into the rising Florida SUN to get to the eye doc, I was blinded by the light and just barely got into the parking lot without a wreck. We sat there about 40 minutes, waiting for the eye to settle down and the sun to get over the windshield, when my oldest son decides we need help and calls the school Deputy on the phone.

Next , we have not 1 but 2 deputies. One takes the middle school son to school and the other takes me and the youngest to the eye doc, drops me off, then takes my son on to his school. So now my car is stranded, my children are stranded at school and I'm stranded at the eye doc's.

When the doc comes in he wants to know how I am -Well, How many patients do you have arrive in police cars? He replies - well not many and those are usually wearing orange jumpsuits  lol lol.

Now you ask  - ok what's in here for me besides a few laughs.

Here are some of the things I learned from 3 different docs during this process.

Numbing drops are lifesavers but are still only available at the doc's office because people will tend to keep their eye numb and can't tell if things are getting better or worse. MANY years ago the drops were cocaine based therefore only available at the doc's. They say the new ones are no longer cocaine based but we still don't get them.

MY ANSWER - they have individual use drops of every kind - why not these, especially for those of us who have only one driver in the family. At least for the 20 minutes my eye is numb, I can get safely to their office and not in a cop car.

I got my first band-aid contact. Instant relief for most of the pain. Did you know such an animal existed?

The 2nd day and 2nd doc, I learn they do have a pain drop they will give you - described as "Tylenol for the Eyeball" now of course it's not really Tylenol so don't put any in your eyes.

Then the doc told me to take 1000 mg of Tylenol (for those of us who are not brand specific types, I believe any acetaminophen will do) plus an Aleve (naproxen) was the same as taking Tylenol with codeine but none of the side effects or addiction problems- WOW - didn't know that and it definitely goes in the good to know file.

Was there a preventative measure? Other than the ointments that I used at night since this started about a year ago - not really. Mine is due to underlying defects in my cornea.

Treatment options. Put lots of drops & ointments in my eyes daily and before bed for the rest of my life with times that it will happen anyway. Or there is a surgery - either scraping or laser type, EWWWWWW they remove the cornea down to the base and it regrows. And you know, for all these eye surgeries you are awake and seeing it - ACK.

Our eyes are truly miraculous organs, just the process that allows us to see is utterly amazing. They also heal very fast. With 3-5 days of totally incapacitating - not a chance in the world are you going to drive a car- pain a thousand times worse than what I've had and you have a new cornea. Pretty impressive.

This will reduce the dry eye issues and give clearer/cleaner/sharper vision. No it will not change your prescription.

I'll let you know what else I learn, as I go through the process.

Of course, Everything happens for a reason. As I arrived at the eye doc's, I got a call from a friend on her way out of town (ie NOT AT WORK), who came to rescue all the stranded of the day.

So a rather yucky eye tale  and a girl tale (Don't get me wrong, I am truly thankful she takes her school work so seriously but we need to work on a few reality based priorities - like they will let you make up work when there is a family emergency) are certainly covered for today.

A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are known as fingers.
A green hand week - rather appropriate to follow St. Patrick's day wouldn't you say?

Don't forget to laugh - it's good for you!