CONTACT LENSES
As an ophthalmologist, I see lots of people with issues and problems with their contact lenses. Some of the most common things I see include: irritation/allergy, scratches, infections, and lens loss (yep, people lose their contacts in their eyes! 👀).
1. Irritation/Allergy - A contact lens is essentially a foreign piece of plastic in your eye. Despite being fitted and smooth, the lens still rubs and debris can collect over time. If not properly cleaned or changed out routinely, contact lenses can cause increased irritation and inflammation of your eyes and lids over time. Your eye can essentially become "allergic" to your lenses. For these patients, allergy drops may help, but I usually recommend a "contact lens holiday" for at least 2 weeks for the eyes to recover, followed by limited contact lens wear to minimize symptoms.
2. Scratches - Worse than irritation is an actual scratch on the surface of your eye, which can be quite painful. Overwearing your lenses (beyond the recommended 6-8 hours a day, especially overnight) can increase your risk for scratches. Thankfully, your eye surface heals pretty quickly and many scratches heal on their own if you just stop wearing your contact lenses for a few days.
3. Infections - This is when bacteria or fungus gets into a scratch on your eye and requires medication to treat. Infections are very painful and serious, as these can affect your vision long term. Please see your eye doctor ASAP for this.
4. Lens Loss - Believe it or not, people do lose their contact lenses in their eyes. Most of the time the lens has fallen out, but I do sometimes find them lodged under the upper eyelid (there is a pocket up there called the fornix) and sweep them out with a cotton tip. And don’t worry, it is impossible for the lens to track back into your brain 🧠- the fornix is a dead end. (I get that question a lot).
I remind all my patients to always have a back up pair of glasses 👓 (so they aren’t “forced” to wear contacts everyday to avoid the above issues) and to consider dailies if they have trouble remembering to clean them properly.
Are you a contact lens wearer? Have you ever had issues?
Why I started This Blog
Over the years, my friends on social media have remarked and suggested, "You should have a blog!" And I've always pushed back, "What for? Social media is like my blog!"
But time and time again people would contact me: "Where was that post you did?" or "What was that discount code you posted?" or “Can you explain TikTok?” And after many hours of searching and scrolling and explaining, I figured it was time to put everything in one place on this blog.
Do I know what I’m doing? NOPE! Is it perfectly pretty and stylized? Not in the least. 😅
But it's a start, and things will continue to grow and evolve. As they (and my TikTok) say, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
And as a THANK YOU for being here: Head over to my About section for 2 FREE guides: Tips for Social Media Creation and TikTok Basics (written for Doctors but applies to any business really).
Style Series - Cuffing Denim
Let’s talk denim! So many fits, so many ways to style!
The easiest way to change up the look of your favorite jeans or give an old pair new life is the cuff. #easypeasy
No cuff - this is a traditional look, best with skinny jeans, wide legged, or flared cuts.
Single cuff - super simple way to change up a look. You can do a skinny or wide fold. Iron the edge to help it hold.
Double cuff - you can make this neat for a more sophisticated look or messy for a casual one.
Half cuff - this is my favorite right now - not too formal, not too casual...
What’s your favorite way to cuff your jeans? 👖
That time we went viral…
It’s truly crazy the response that my husband and I have gotten from this little #realdoctorlovestory Tiktok video. Students and trainees have reached out to say it makes them hopeful; other couples have made their own fun versions; strangers have commented on how it just makes them happy...
I think my ultimate take away here is that - despite hardships, difficulties, and pain - LOVE is the answer and always finds a way. ❤️ And it’s amazing to see that over 6 million people would agree. 😉
Hug your loved ones close. Cherish them. Tomorrow is not promised so have fun and love hard today!