Sometimes, there's more to old age than meets the eye—sometimes, it's 27 contact lenses jammed in there, according to a case study published this month in the British Medical Journal.
A 67-year-old British woman, complaining of eye discomfort and dryness, was scheduled last November to have routine surgery to remove cataracts when doctors discovered a "blueish mass" of 17 disposable contact lenses stuck in one of her eyes. Upon further examination, they fished out 10 more, the case study reveals.
Doctors were startled, according to Rupal Morjaria, a specialist trainee ophthalmologist on the case who spoke with Optometry Today. "None of us have ever seen this before," she said. "It was such a large mass. All the 17 contact lenses were stuck together. We were really surprised that the patient didn't notice it because it would cause quite a lot of irritation while it was sitting there."
It's unclear how long the contact lenses had been in there or over what period they accumulated. But, she told doctors that she had been using the monthly disposable lenses for 35 years and did not get frequent eye exams in that time.
The woman, who was equally shocked by the discovery, said she was a lot more comfortable after the lenses were removed, Morjaria reported.
Source: Ars Technica
BMJ, 2017. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.j2783 (paywalled).
[Reportedly, the lenses were lodged in her upper fornix. --Ed.]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Taibhsear on Wednesday July 19 2017, @02:23PM (6 children)
How does someone get scheduled for cataracts surgery without getting a general eye exam first? Unless the woman has Alzheimer's or something and repeatedly forgot she put her contacts in that morning... 27 times, something seems fishy. I'm absolutely stunned she didn't have some other crazy eye infection that developed first. I can't even nap with them in without feeling like I'm going to die or dig out my own eyeballs after I wake up.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Wednesday July 19 2017, @03:43PM (4 children)
The snippet of the paper which is visible says:
So it sounds like they weren't on her cornea but under her eyelids.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 19 2017, @04:00PM
Yes, honestly a lot of people on this planet are near too stupid to live. The issue is they are called "disposable" without explaining what that means. She probably thought it meant they melted away or some shit, so they didn't need to be taken out like "regular" contact lenses. This is why we have to put "Caution: Hot" on shit that is obviously hot. There are people this fucking dumb on this planet, and if you give them opportunity to hurt themselves, then you are to blame because they are too dumb to realize this.
(Score: 3, Informative) by TheRaven on Wednesday July 19 2017, @05:40PM (2 children)
sudo mod me up
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 19 2017, @09:49PM (1 child)
Hmm... in what country??? Never that happened to me! Retina exam, inner-eyeball exam, cornea, vision, etc... never folding freaking eyelids. That's basically just skin!
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Thursday July 20 2017, @07:50AM
sudo mod me up
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 19 2017, @08:43PM
Someone inexperienced did the scheduling, no doubt. I was once scheduled for a colonoscopy to get to the bottom (lol) of some bleeding I was experiencing. When I arrived at my appointment with the proctologist, he took one look and diagnosed an anal fissure. No colonoscopy needed. The doctor who referred me had overlooked the fissure.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 19 2017, @03:43PM (1 child)
And why dost thou behold the mote that is in thy brother's eye, and all that junk that is in thine own eye dost not consider?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 19 2017, @04:39PM
I wore contacts for a few years, but I didn't like them. I much prefer my lenses above my eye instead of in my eye and easily removable at that. And I like the way different glasses make me look.
It might still apply though because I seem to get an eyelash floating around in my eye really often. Fortunately, wearing contacts back then deprogrammed my automatic reaction of shutting my eyelids when I'm touching an eyeball with a finger (mostly).
Seriously, though! One teensy little eyelash will drive me crazy, especially if I know it's there but hiding somewhere. How the living hell do you get twenty seven lenses--TWENTY SEVEN!--stuck in your eye?!
I think a lot of people don't listen to their bodies well. I think we can make an exception to that proverb when it's 27 goddamned contact lenses!