Going to the Dogs

I miss blogging almost as much as not knowing I have become allergic to one of my favorite things in the whole world.

My eyes have been on fire lately. They itch and burn, swell and look bloodshot and glazy. Sometimes they feel so dry they are scratchy and my vision blurrs.  I thought for a while that it was the many hours I am on the computer, or perhaps my poor sleeping habits as a result of stress and age.

I went to the doc a long time ago and he ran all the panel of tests. Everything came back fine and so I headed to an optometrist for glasses, thinking my eyes were strained from several years of neglect. He thought the new glasses would do the trick and recommended rehydrating eye drops sold over the counter.

What I had noticed but had not paid particular attention to was the fact they got better through the mid part of the week and got worse on the weekend.  On Tuesday, my eyes hurt so bad I couldn't take it anymore and went to see a new optometrist who nailed it down with some simple questions.

When did I first notice it? A couple of years ago, subtle at first, getting worse over time.
What was going on at that time? We were living in the city, swimming, working, playing, normal life stuff. What else was new?  We got Sam ...

Oh no. My heart dropped. Quickly I suggested it might be due to the shift to the country with lots of outside work in the grit and dust, a whole new ecology of eye irritants. Maybe all these forest fires, or a food allergy.

Don't worry, she soothed. She explained the time spent around the dogs (weekends, vacations) was triggering a reaction. I don't just spend time with dogs, I'm on the floor with them and let crawl all over me. I cuddle them while watching a movie, and we laugh and chase each other in the yard. We take them with us most everywhere we can.

The optometrist and I talked about general interventions at home, like washing with soap and water after visiting the dogs, changing the pillow cases every night, and training Sam to sleep on the floor. She didn't recommend oral allergy medications because they can dry the eyes, and the over the counter eye drops do the same. So she gave some samples of eye drops which I began using on Tuesday night.

Almost right away, my eyes improved. The orangy redness started to clear up, the puffiness started to recede, the sandpaper scratchiness and glazy film began to disappear. I take Pataday drops for daytime and at night an over the counter drop called Systane. A prescription is on its way! So grateful for the great optometrist at Eyes of Woodland!

It is helping me to know there will be life after allergies, and hell or high water there is room for the dogs.