I have had an ongoing eye issue for over 6 months, I’d been to the GP and was given antibiotic drops, but they didn’t do anything. I was in touch with Nuala at Cooke Opticians, I was well overdue an eye test anyway, and Nuala said she would look at my eye to see what was going on.
Firstly, I had the most comprehensive eye test that I’ve ever had! It was outstanding! Nuala (on the right of the photo) is a lovely person and explained everything so well to me. It turns out that I have dry eyes, which I had before, but forgot about, I know they can be sore sometimes, so I got some eyedrops today to help with that. Nuala told me that the eyelids are like windscreen wipers on a car, and when you blink, they clear your eyes, but when you have dry eyes, there aren’t enough tears to clear your eyes, and they can get irritated. Nuala explained it a lot better than I did, but hopefully you get the idea. The drops will help, and sunglasses will help too. It’s probably an age/hormone thing in my case.
The eye issue is a blocked oil gland. The oil glands are near your eyelashes, and Nuala explained that when they get blocked it’s kind of like when you leave the lid off a tube of toothpaste, and the toothpaste can’t get out of the tube. The same is happening with the oil, it can’t get out of the gland due to a buildup of oil. Nuala explained that heat compresses and massaging the area will help to unclog the gland, and she did an excellent job of removing some of the blockage already (I couldn’t do her job!)
As well as the eye test, I also had an OCT scan, this gives a 3D view of the retina and is a great way to detect abnormalities. That’s an optional extra when you go for an eye test.
I also found out that I do have a cataract on each eye, I knew I had one for sure, but the jury was out on the other one. Again, Nuala explained this so well, she said my ones aren’t bad at all, it’s like having a slightly smeary window. She also explained that a lot of people get cataracts, especially as they get older, but not everyone needs to have them treated. That really put my mind at rest.
Cooke Opticians is an independent optical practice established in 1991. All the staff are friendly and so helpful. They look after everyone, including people with medical cards, and those with PRSI. I’d really recommend them, and I’ll be going back next month to see if I need new glasses, I forgot to bring mine with me today – typical!)
Thanks so much Nuala for all your help and support. It’s great to find out for sure what’s going on with my eye.
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