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Bacterial Keratinitis - Yikes! |
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Written by Matt Hersey
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Tuesday, 22 August 2006 |
I'm injured again! Except this time it isn't a broken collarbone or a finger. It's my eye! I've never had problems with my eyes before, but now I'm realizing that they are really important and I can't afford to lose one. This all happened after a mountain bike ride on the river trail a few days ago. I took my eyewear off because I was sweating buckets. I passed through some road construction, got whacked by some overgrown trees, etc.. The usual dangers.
At first, it felt like the typical piece of grit in my eye. Usually these things work their way out and the pain goes away. However, this one was different. The pain wasn't going away, my eye was getting more and more bloodshot, it was getting painful to keep it open, and it was keeping me from sleeping.
The eye doctor was pretty impressed with my injury. He let out a "jeez" when he saw it under the light. He put a yellow dye in there to highlight the infection. He diagnosed me with Bacterial Keratinitis and gave me a prescription for antibiotic eyedrops. Now I have to put the drops in every hour and go back to see him every day for the rest of the week. (What a hassle.) He said that if I had waited much longer than he might have admitted me to the hospital and started me on intravenous antibiotics. Double "jeez" from me.
I guess that this is a little wake-up call for my eye health. Cycling can potentially be hard on the eyes, and those things don't grow back. I've been reckless with my eyes fand haven't protected them well for years. I remember seeing double for a day after racing an extremely muddy Second Start Enduro mountain bike race many years ago. All these years of racing - and so many bugs, branches, and pieces of dirt in my eyes. No more! I'm going to get better about wearing my glasses. You too. Be careful out there. It's harder to ride bikes with just one good eye!
Matt Hersey |
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