Holiday means catching up on appointments. Having grown up in East London, I feel I have pinpointed the best optometrist, orthodontist and hairdresser and I don’t feel the need to go through the torture of finding new ones in Cape Town. And anyway, the people here need the capital flow a lot more.
Today was time for the optometrist. I like going there, especially since I actually know what’s going on. My optometrist is also a natural teacher, which is great for someone like me (I actually enjoy learning, as long as it remains interesting and versatile).
They changed from pneumatonometry to rebound tonometry. The puff of air was a bit much for me and I’m sure their paediatric patients did not like it much either. Good move!
My dad has Juvenile Macular Degeneration. When my parents started having children, genetic screening was not yet widely available in South Africa, especially not for a newly-wed couple. Fortunately it seems my mom is not a carrier, so we kids got off without the visual impairment. Although I believe that if one of us did have it, my dad would have been sure to bring us up as independent and able as he is.
Having done Ophthalmology this year, it was nice to see my retinas for myself. No JMD, check. No diabetes, check (but I knew this). No hypertension, check. Awesome. He was even so kind as to email me the fundus scans:
On a less satisfying note, I had my first run-in with fluorescine (but I was able to identify it, so that was fun). It turns out I have Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis. I don’t use my contact lenses thaaaat much, but apparently the fact that I get sinus and hayfever probably contributes to it. GPC and atopy are both mediated by IgE, so that makes sense.
He gave me these lovely little drops containing an antihistamine, eosinophil-modulator and mast cell stabiliser. He also told me to stop using ReNu for my contacts. I read up about the lawsuits, it is really interesting. It’s just a pity for my student budget.
And now I need to wear my specs more. I’ve never looked very good with glasses…
Whispers Unto the Aether 
Glasses can be sexy! I make mine sexy anyway. lol. Thanks for stopping by on my SITS Day! I am always happy to meet other non-US bloggers. Nothing against them, of course. lol.
Maybe you should write a post about making glasses sexy 🙂 I have a weird face for glasses. But I can try.