Not quite the take-home souvenir from Guatemala I've always wanted....
I have developed an eye callous (scientific name: pinguecula). The ophthalmologist said people get eye callouses due to UV exposure (think 5,000 ft. closer to the sun than Kansas!), dust, pollution, and wind. Hm. You mean, due to living in Guatemala? He also said that they are more common than you would think! The good news is that it's just a cosmetic issue and doesn't harm your eyesight unless it goes untreated. And mine is not even that noticeable -- James didn't see it until I pointed it out to him. The good doctor also said they don't go away...they are sort of like freckles in that once you have it, it's there to stay, but you can lesson its growth and irritation..... So I'm on a steady diet of eye drops, UV protective sunglasses, and enclosed vehicles when in the city.
Not my eye, but it looks very similar
6 comments:
Eeek! I got an eye goober when I was overseas, too. :)
I think I have this! I've just always called it, "I'm tired," though....
Hey, I have that going in both eyes! Hard to see it, though. The doc told me that people closer to the equator suffer from it a lot more--even have to have surgery to correct it. Go figure. Wear those UV shades!!
I actually even thought that it didn't look like your eye, and then my suspicions were confirmed as I finished reading. Aha!
Hey--I got a pinguecula too when I first started wearing contacts in college--but the doctor said it would go away as my eyes got used to the contacts and it did!! Maybe there's hope that it will get better!
I have one in both eyes, too! Luckily, my best friend from high school and my younger sister are both optometrists, so they informed me right away that it was nothing to worry about. At my last eye appointment, though, I said, "Could you check out my pinguecula?" She said that I got a gold star for being her only patient to ever use that word. :)
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