Freaky Eye Thursday
be ye warned: there's a weird eye picture below.
i saw a patient at Sam's this week who was having an awful time with his eyes itching. i just saw him 2 months ago for a contact lens exam, and everything looked great then. now, his eyes are itching so badly that he can't wear his contacts anymore.
one of the weirdest tricks i have to do as an eye doctor is "flip" a patient's lids. i can easily see inside the lower eyelid, but the upper eyelid is tougher. so, in order to view it, i have to use a sterile, cotton tipped applicator (fancy q-tip) to evert the upper lid. with any contact lens patient who is complaining of itching, i flip their lids.
when i flipped this guy's lids, i saw something like this:
this is an example of Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis (VKC). people with severe allergies can develop this allergic reaction under their top eyelids very easily. instead of the surface being smooth and velvety, the eyelid has developed "cobblestone" appearing bumps. these bumps make contact lens wear almost impossible. plus, a thick, ropy mucus is usually present (this guy had that, too).
so, he's out of his contacts for 2 weeks at least. i put him on a topical steriod eye drop twice a day, and i'll recheck him in 2 weeks. once we get this under control, he'll be able to wear his contacts again, most likely with the long-term use of another prescription eye drop to prevent this from flaring up again.
i bet you had no idea that eye allergies could get so bad! be thankful if you don't have bad eye allergies!
8 comments:
Enough of the weird eye diseases already!!! That is gross and yes, I am glad I don't have that particular allergy although at times I feel like I have BIG cobblestones under my upper lids. Any bites on the house? Keep us posted on you and Brooke. Much love
Cool, Rick! I am always amazed at the cases you encounter being an optometrist! I will count my blessings that I don't have eye allergies as that looks painful! Hope you and Brooke are well. We love you both!!
I enjoy seeing and reading about your gross eye pictures. Keep it up! On the otherhand, I won't be sharing photos of what I see at work. I think I might be the only one who enjoys gross mouth pictures!
I looovvveee the gross eye pictures!
Geez a loo. I know it said be ye warned, but when I saw the picture my eyes immediately went there instead of the text. No worries though, it wasn't that bad.
Hey Doc Rick! Thanks for showing me an example of what my eyelids look like...I hate having cobblestone eyelids but love the daily drop to make it okay. Your a great doc!
I just started wearing new contacts about a month ago. A week ago, I noticed that my contact in my left eye wouldn't stay in place. It would get caught and drawn up into my lid frequently. I finally took it out and replaced it with new contacts. That didn't work either, the problem continued.
Every time I blinked I could feel something in there. I flipped my lid and saw the same thing on the picture above. I also had thick discharge in my eyes when I would wake up in the morning for the past week.
I had no idea what was wrong but I was about to freak out but then I found your post on the internet.
Don't stop posting the things you find at work, its helping people. Now I don't have be worried until I can get to see my doctor and I know not to put back in my contacts.
thanks for all the comments.
ds, i hope things work out well. from what you described, it sounds like you might have diagnosed yourself! but please go get things checked soon. a blog site is no substitute for a thorough eye exam. let me know how things turn out. i'm glad i could give you some helpful direction.
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