I really hate, hate haze! It’s been so bloody hazy for the past one week. Haze aggravates Big J’s allergy, haze causes Little J to have severe runny nose! That is despite me having a air purifier in their room and my living room.

Haze makes all my clothes smell like charcoal! It’s about time that I get a cloth dryer.. I drag to imagine what the haze will do to our lungs in the long run. And poor kids have to stay indoor all the time! Haze has been a “loyal” visitor for the past 15 years, as far as I can recall. What are the authorities going to do something? Or can they do anything at all? Probably it’s time that we seriously take a look at that greener pasture, faraway from haze. :(

One lesson I learnt, from my prolonged red-eyes problems is to consult an eye specialist immediately whenever I have any discomfort in the eyes. Do not see a GP or do your own remedy, like what I did..hahaha.. thinking that I can save the money to pamper myself with a new pair of shoes!

I started having discomfort, ichiness in my eyes more than 3 weeks ago. I bought a sterile saline drop from a phamacy and applied the drops whenever necessary. My eyes were fine after 7 days and I started to wear back the contact lens. 2 days later, the eyes became red and itchy again and the saline drop not only didn’t help but worsened the condition. Then I went to see a GP, he said I had a bad infection, he prescribed an anti-bacterial/anti-imflammatory eye drops and told me to apply for a week. He prescribed some vitamins and anti-histamine but both prescription ended up in my dustbin. I never like to take medicine.

After 5 days, my eyes were ok. Then I stopped applying, but did not wear my contact lens because I wanted to let my eyes have a longer break from contact lens. Then 2 days later, the ichiness and redness came back. I applied back the eye drop and goodness, it stinged and the redness became worse.

The following day, I went to see an eye specialist Dr. Then at ISEC. He did a thorough check and diagnosed me as having Dry Eyes Syndrome. He didn’t find any infection, my corneas and eye pressure are perfect. What a relief! I was preparing for some serious diagnose and in fact, the receptionist at the ISEC told me that a lot of patients went through cornea transplant due to severe problems caused by contact lens. I was told by Dr. Then that as we age, our eyes tend to be less tolerance to contact lens. Cheh.. reminds me that I am not getting any younger. haha.. He advised me to use artificial eye drop and to make sure that I use preservative-free drops which can be applied with contact lens on. Those lubricants with preservative, which are cheaper, tend to irritate the eyes more. 

I did some research myself and found out that certain medication may aggravate the dry eyes. Anti-histamine is one of them. I can’t imagine if I had taken the anti-histamine prescribed by the GP I saw earlier. And the anti-inflammatory eye drop my GP prescribed content steroid! Another cause may be because of contact lens. Although Dr. Then said that all contact lens are basically the same, I somehow feel the difference when I use B & L compare to FreshLook. I feel so much comfortable with FreshLook. My next mission is to source for a good quality contact lens. I am so happy when Dr. Then said that I can wear my contact lens anytime provided I keep my eyes moisture with the eye drop and do not wear for more than 8 hours. I am too vain to do away without contact lens.

Find out more about Dry Eyes Syndrome here.

I blogged earlier about my eyes infection. My eyes were ok after I applied the eye drops after 5 days, then I stop the application but did not use contact lens. I was planning to use back the lens after a month.  The night before, my eyes became itchy and I immediately apply the anti-inflammatory eye drop which my GP prescribed earlier. And it became worse! My right eye was so red the following morning. I concluded that it’s time I see an eye specialist.

I remembered taking Big J to see one Dr. Chin in Sunway Medical Center. She was recommended to me by my sister-in-law who is a Paediatrician at KLGH. I wasn’t very satisfied with her because she wasn’t patient and when she concluded that Big J has minor astig, I asked her if he needed a pair of glasses to correct the astig.. and guess what she said! “Up to you, he can do with or without the glasses!” Come on lah, be professional and give concrete advice!

Not knowing any eye specialist, I did a google search and came across International Specialist Eye Center (ISEC), located at Mid Valley Boulevard. I called up the receptionist and told her my eyes condition and she recommended 2 doctors. I studied the profiles of both doctors at their website and decided to see a Dr. Then.

My appointment with Dr. Then was 3pm yesterday. I arrived 10 minutes early. Wow.. very impressive interior, nice and relaxed ambience, good for our eyes, I guess, haha. And they are paperless! In all private hospitals that I have been, I was required to fill in a form for first time visit, some hospitals ever required to fill in forms for each visit. But here, no forms required, the receptionist asked me a few questions and he keyed in the computer as he spoke to me. Then I was given an appointment card and Dr. Then’s card.

I was the only patient waiting to see Dr. Then and goodness! I waited for more than an hour for him! When he finally showed up, he apologised and asked me about my medical history and he keyed in the pc as he asked me. Paperless concept! And this is my first time seeing a Doctor keying in data on his own. The center saves a lot of overhead costs! But I guess if there are lots of patients, it literally means longer waiting time unless the doctor has excellent typing skills, haha..

He did a thorough check on my eyes and I must say that he is very professional. It was a painless check up and he answered and explained every question I asked patiently. He diagnosed me as having Dry Eyes Syndrome. I will blog more about Dry Eyes Syndrome in my next entry. Overall, I am very satisfied with the service at ISEC (except that I waited one hour to see the doc) and also..the fee charged is reasonable. If you are looking for an Eye Specialist, I would strongly recommend you to ISEC. They have all kinds of Eyes Specialists who are expertise in their respective field. Dr. Then is a Cornea and External Eye Diseases Specialist. Oh yes, I can never pronounce the word ophthalmologist correctly. Let’s just refer this group of species as Eye Doctor, haha..

Read more about ISEC and their panel of eyes specialists here.