Tonometry

Im actually lazy to blog about the rest of my winter break. maybe next time k. Im gonna skip and do this post first.

So.. Sem 2 we're doing more practical stuffs, harder too. Today we did tonometry, a skill to measure intraocular pressure. It's a direct contact method, so we had to apply anesthetic onto the surface of the eye, like an eye drop except it's anesthetic lol. and yes it stings a little when it's applied. Hate it. Then i felt my eyelids getting heavier (just a lil, but u can feel it) and of course no pain sensation at all for touching the cornea. Then the probe is popped onto the surface to measure the IOP. sounds easy aye? hell no. hard as ok.

Tonometer probe with slit lamp

As usual i, being timid, didnt dare to be the optometrist first. So i volunteered to be the patient first. Allowing my lab partner to try it on me. First drop of Bnx (anesthetic) wasnt enough for me. i could still feel my left eye. maybe she took too much time trying to pop the probe onto my cornea so then the Bnx was drained away when she finally got there. Asian eyelids and eyelashes are always harder to do. Urgh. So then another drop of Bnx. Sigh. Still, failed. So third attempt! But the lab demonstrator didnt allow her to do it on the same eye so the other eye of mine was sacrificed too. Well just one attempt wouldnt be too bad right. 衰就是衰. Another gal came by and wanted to have a go on my eye. Well her lab partner had contact lenses on so she couldnt do it on hers. I was being nice since she's always nice to me. So 2nd drop of Bnx on my right eye. and she tried hard to pop the probe onto the surface too.

What's the risk? Having no pain sensation, i couldnt tell whether they've torn my corneal epithelium or not. AND! Bnx weakens the epithelium, yet i have 2 large drops in 2 eyes. Turned out that... Ive got probe marks, drags, and eyelashes scratches on my cornea. Esp right eye's epithelium. and also some on the left. Hence i ended up applying antibiotics eye drops every 2 hours after the lab till tomorrow, to prevent infection. It heals in 24 hours, hopefully.

And who thinks optometrists should have good eyes? I reckon by the time i graduate, my eyes will be bad bad bad =.=