I'm typing this up in stages, as a nasty sinus infection plus the flu have decided to take up residence in my body. As one of my favorite stand up comedians, John Pinette, has said of his motivation while at the gym, I'm definitely in a "Raviolis and a nap!" mental state.
Life is funny, and not just sometimes. I started this blog with every intention of getting into a regular posting schedule. Soon thereafter, I experienced another "episode". Every few months, my right eye would burn and refuse to stay open. I had thought it was due to allergies, so I treated it with over the counter eye drops and let it be. This time, however, I had two occurrences within the same month, so I went to see a specialist.
I was diagnosed with Corneal Dystrophy. I still need to get a second opinion, as well as additional tests performed to determine precisely what type of this disorder I may have. The eye drops I was prescribed have done their duty in getting my right eye to behave itself, and it seems I'll be buying lubricating eye drops for the rest of my life. Not that I have anything to complain about, here. I'm in the early stages yet, so my eyes and I will continue to work with each other for many years to come.
Since I'm writing about this anyway, I thought I might add a couple of the things I'm doing to help deal with this. Who knows, maybe someone will find this information to be helpful.
To start off, my job is full time, and it keeps me in front of a computer under harsh florescent lighting. Such conditions aren't good for anyone's eye health, but for me, it brings on the burn. First, I tried wearing a visor, which helped to a degree. Now I wear a pair of CocoonsUSA's Cocoon Low-Vision Wide-Line (ML) in Hazelnut, which I sometimes also pair up with my visor if the lights are really getting to me.
To keep my eyes moist, I'm currently applying one to two drops of Refresh Plus every 2 to 3 hours or so. I may change this to be a quasi-gel in the future if it proves to not affect my ability to view my computer screen. I'm also considering a gel to smear on my eyes at bedtime, though I'm not yet sure what brand would be best.
Another adaption I've made is better managing the time spent on my personal computer. For every hour, I have to take a fifteen minute break doing something, anything, else. This is the change that annoys me the most. When I'm not scoping out potential outfits, accessories, craft supplies, etc. for Cricket, I like to play various types of computer games. I'm trying to see this as a motivator to work on projects, such as Cricket's dress and spring diorama, rather than a hindrance. Of course it doesn't always work, but one's got to try, right?
Other than making sure to get a full eight hours of sleep each night, those are all of the changes to my life that I can think of that are a result of my learning that I may have Corneal Dystrophy. When I get that second opinion, I'll write about the results.
Now to go get some soup (No ravioli for me. *sad face* ) and my nap.
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