The Amsler Grid

Do you know how sometimes your day just goes from worse to worst?   Mine did the other day.  

OK, maybe I exaggerate but for someone who  doesn't normally take sick days off, doesn't usually take medicine, and doesn't like using creams and lotions, it certainly feels that way.

It started some time in winter, all these 'my face is drying up' issues of mine.   It started out with chapped lips, then the area below the nose got dried too when I got a cold, but things really got bad when even my the areas around the eyes were drying up, too.    

You know it was bad because I actually lined up to see a doctor back then.  He prescribed some hydrocortisone for the eye area.   It improved slightly but after a while the eye areas started getting red.  I just stopped putting the hydrocortisone but didn't go back to see a doctor.

I had hoped it would fix itself.  I'm really not the type to see doctors. (Yes, yes, I know all about the ounce of prevention thing and I believe all that, but the Taurean bullheadedness in me is kind of strong.)   I had gone to the chemist and picked up some lotion which the lady had recommended was safe(r) for the eye area.   It seemed to help somewhat but I knew it wasn't REALLY improving.

Last week,  I found myself in the start of my two-week mandatory leave from work.  The kids were also on school holidays  so we had scheduled a dental appointment for them and planned to make an eye appointment.  MacGyver encouraged  me to make the call for the appointment and go for an eye check-up as well.  (Read between the lines and see the word STRONGLY in there.)  

So off to the eye doctor I went last Thursday.  He was happy to report that the eye area was only inflamed (and not infected).   He recommended using cleanser and moisturiser for sensitive skin.  He didn't mention anything about the grade of my  glasses so I suppose I should be happy although I have to admit that I was giving my best guess for some of the letters on the chart.   (Was that an O or a D?  I can't be sure if that is a C or a G.)

After that, we moved on to another room where he had his new high tech OCT scanner.  He asked me to look at the red cross in the middle of the screen.  "Close your eyes, then when you open them don't blink for a while,"  my doctor instructed.   We did that for both eyes.  

When we were done with both eyes, he called me over.  "The right eye is fine," he said. Then he showed me the picture of the left eye and dropped the bomb.   "But you see that there?  (showing me a small circle on the screen somewhere in between what I assume to be the inner layers of my left eye)  That shouldn't be there.  We don't know what it is.  It could be some fluid or some fatty deposits.  It is quite small but it is its proximity to the macula which is of concern.  There is no need to remove it or anything, we just have to monitor its size.  Nothing to worry about."

Yeah, nothing to worry about.  That's easy for him to say.  He's not the one whose excess fat shows up in his eye.

Kidding aside, he referred me to another specialist.  Unfortunately, when I called for an appointment, I was told that the soonest available slots were for the last weeks of October (way after my scheduled leave); and by the way, "Specialists don't hold clinic on weekends."   So I have yet to find out what else might be wrong with me.

Of course I had to relay the news to my resident ophthalmologist, Eldest Sis.  She seemed fairly calm about the whole thing (which was comforting) and she introduced me to the Amsler Grid.  

We were at the tail end of our Skype call, so I had to go to Wikipedia for an explanation (below) for what looked like nothing but graphing paper to my untrained eyes. 

If it is any consolation to me, all the Amsler grid lines look straight to me and none of them seem to be missing.

The Amsler grid, used since 1945, is a grid of horizontal and vertical lines used to monitor a person's central visual field. The grid was developed by Marc Amsler, a Swiss ophthalmologist. It is a diagnostic tool that aids in the detection of visual disturbances caused by changes in the retina, particularly themacula (e.g. macular degeneration, Epiretinal membrane), as well as the optic nerve and the visual pathway to the brain.

 In the test, the person looks with each eye separately at the small dot in the center of the grid. Patients with macular disease may see wavy lines or some lines may be missing.

Amsler grids are supplied by ophthalmologists, optometrists or from web sites, and may be used to test one's vision at home.