Fear, Fright and Worry

I woke up this morning with a weepy eye which, when I looked in the mirror, was bright scarlet where it should have been white. No pain, so I inserted my contact lenses as usual and did a load of washing. Rolled the washing out to the line - really bad stabbing pain in the eye as I ventured into the sunlight.

OK, need some eyedrops. I went down the road to the pharmacy and was totally freaked out when the pharmacist (not one I had ever seen before) diagnosed an attack of acute glaucoma!! My optometrist tests me for glaucoma every time I go to her, so I was a little skeptical. He refused to sell me eyedrops and insisted I needed to visit a doctor immediately. (Today is Sunday, and tomorrow is a public holiday, so our usual GP wasn't an option). The emergency GP clinics don't bulk bill - in fact one local one isn't even registered for Medicare, so attendance is VERY expensive.

I dread the possibility of blindness, but I have had conjunctivitis before and I thought this was a more likely diagnosis. So I went to another pharmacy. Same listing of symptoms, but this time the pharmacist agreed that I should try some mild antibiotic eyedrops and go to my GP on Monday if the eye was no better.

I have now had two doses of the drops. While the eye is still red, the inflammation has subsided, though I still can't tolerate bright light. The worst of it is that I have had to ditch my lenses and dig out my glasses, which I totally loathe! One pair for reading, another for general vision plus sunglasses . . . I hate the clutter of cases and the swapping of one set for another.

I am hoping the drops work and my eye will be better tomorrow. I am resigned to the glasses until it is.