You know it’s going to be one of those days when everything is going along fairly well – work was tolerable, dinner was satisfactory, and you even got home with enough time to spare and relax with the parental units – and then BAM! There’s something scratching at the fragile membrane of your eyeball. It didn’t feel like anything bad, like say… a cat claw to the face (That’s a story for later) but it was enough to keep your brain focused on it instead of other more entertaining activities.
It’s bad enough when you can see the little bugger when you peel back your lower lid and can see the small sliver of dark brown lash snuggling itself nicely between the irritated membrane, and the now bloodshot eye tissue. But when you search and search, yet still can’t find the lash, that’s when things get frustrating.
For instance, a few days ago my eye was feeling itchy and dry. No big deal, I thought. I’ll just go check it out in the mirror. However, once I got myself to the bathroom and peeled back my lower lid, I found nothing. That’s right, nothing. No lash, no tiny little sliver of hair, nothing. I washed my hands thoroughly and gently prodded all over my eye with a finger, pulling out occasionally to inspect and see if I managed to find it, but nothing came out. Just clear mucus that coats the eye.
I slipped a couple eye drops beneath my lids, then went back into the living room to catch up on some M*A*S*H. A few minutes later, my eye began to itch again! Groaning, I get back up and investigate with the mirror. Still nothing! I searched again with my finger (I washed it again – don’t worry!) and came up empty once more. I even lifted my upper lid and checked there! Nada. A few more eye drops, and still my eye felt itchy.
Frustrated, I added more eye drops and got myself ready for bed. It took twice as long to fall asleep because I was itching at my eyeball like a cat scratching at a particularly annoying dry patch of skin every five or so minutes.
The next day, though, my eye acted as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. The bloodshot look was gone, the membranous mucus was in stock, and all seemed right with the world.
Eye world problems, man. It’s always those eye world problems.
L.J. LaBree 