BLEPHARITIS!

Morning everyone!
I am struggling to fit everything in at the moment with it being the end of the summer term, with just a week to go at school and so many things to pack in, its been had to find time to sit and blog! Last Thursday was a particularly challenging day. Remember I told you I had a Doctors appointment at 7.30am? I left the house at 7, and walked to the surgery, leaving Ralph behind crying in his crate because he thought he should be walking with me as per our usual routine! Anyway, I got there about 7.15, but it was all shut up, I was desperate to be back home for at least 7.45 as my youngest daughter needed to be at the school bus stop for 7.50, and she, as most of the school kids, is finding it harder and harder to get up and get going.
I sat outside on the bench for 5 minutes and waited for the doors to be unlocked, Richard, who is the practice manager let me in at just gone 20 past, and I was in with the Doc by 25 past.
I gave him the chat about knowing what was wrong and what I needed but if I contact the hospital, I know they will tell me to go in.
There are several different types of Blepharitis, mostly its to do with inflammation of the eye lid margins, this can be combined with blocked meibomian glands, these glands open onto the edges of the lids and produce a oil which is an important component of the tears.
Doc goes through my notes and finds a letter from the hospital saying they had treated me for Blepharitis, but hadn't said which medicine they had prescribed to treat it. This seemed to confuse the Doc and after a lot of deliberation, he wrote me a prescription for Hypromellose, as the script printed off we discussed another issue that was bothering me, so he decided I needed some blood tests, the phlebotomist was all booked up for today, but the Doc jumped up and went for a chat with her, he returned all smiley saying she would see me now if I could just sit outside for a moment, I could feel the familiar tightness in my chest building up, Christ sake man, don't you know I have a grumpy teenager at home who needs to get  her backside out of bed!
Just as I am standing to go wait for blood tests, he says, oh, and by the way you cannot wear your contact lenses while your Blepharitis is being treated......BAM, your joking me right? without my contact lenses I cannot function normally, I cant go to work, cook a meal, I have bloody parents evening tonight!
Well, would you like me to sign you off work?.....no, I bloody well wouldn't, we have a week left, and the kids and staff I work with now, I may not be working with next year, I don't want to be signed off.....Cant you find a drug that I can use with my contact lenses in? The medicine I had from the hospital when I had it before, gave me something that I could use with my lenses.....well, he says...you find out what it was called and I will write you a prescription for it.....shit man, I hope I am gonna get a cut of your wages today!
Blood tests done, I was racing, and I mean racing up the village at 7.45, tripping over the pavement, sweat pouring off me, I could feel the heat off of my face so I knew it was all red and blotchy, as I got nearer my home, which is about a mile away from the Doctors surgery, I could see all the kids at the bus stop, there in the middle of them is my beautiful daughter, no doubt hair and make up pristine, she was too far away for me to see her, but I could hear that laugh that makes my heart ping and makes me smile too.
To cut a very long story short, I decided that if I walked the Ralph over the fields, by the time I got around the loop that I usually do, the chemist in the village will be open so I will pick up my medicine. My eldest daughter and my sister, with her dog, walked with me, we did our usual chatting as we walked and before we new it we must have walked four miles, so headed back to the village and to the chemist.

1st prescription of eye drops in a bottle, which I think makes the risk of infection higher when you are continually using the same bottle near the eyes.

Oh, back track a bit, when I had got back from the Docs, I had contacted the hospital and a friend who uses the same drops as the ones the hospital had prescribed before, to get its name. As we are walking back up the village a couple of text come through on my phone from the hospital and my friend giving the name of the medicine. So as I walked past the Doctors on the way home, I nipped in and gave the receptionist the name, thinking she would just take it and get the Doc to write a prescription I started to leave, the Doctor comes out of his office just as I am at the door, and points at me declaring that he was just about to ring me, come into his office.
He is happy to write me a new prescription but he is not happy for me to be wearing my contact lenses. so, I smile, stand up, take my second prescription of the day and say ok then, thank you very much, and leave before he got chance to get that white pad out with the form on that says you are not fit for work!
Outside my daughter and the dog are waiting for me, the thought of walking all the way back to the chemist and then all the way home again just made me want to cry. so, plan B, we walk home, I get on the next bus into Hitchin, get my medicine and some new contact lenses solution from Boots, nip to M&S buy ready meals for tea as there was going to be no way to fit any real cooking into this day.
We get in at 11.30, I had a quick drink and changed my shoes then caught the 11.45 bus into town. The next bus back was the 1.10 and I knew I couldn't miss it because I had to get ready and get over to the school as my first appointment for parents eve was 3.15.
Boots, quite frankly was shit, they didn't have my medicine or contact lenses solution, so I ran up to a little independent chemist, who were fantastic and had everything I needed, while they were doing whatever it is that they do at the chemist, I ran to Marks and got the meals, ran back to the chemist and grabbed the medicine, literally getting to the bust stop as the bus drew up.
I am making this sound all so very easy, but the amount of times I bumped to people or tripped up along the way is too many to mention.

2nd prescription, easier and safer to use I think. The little top naps off and you turn it round and then it fits back on like a lid, so if you are maybe someone who has to put drops in every hour, you could use the little vile twice and throw away, making risk of infection less.

Happy to be sitting down, I started to relax on the bus ride home, just as we are coming into the village a poor lady sitting at the front of the bus has a seizure, I never moved so fast, the poor woman hit the bus floor so hard I was worried she had broken something. Anyway by the time all the drama had been sorted the bus was running half an hour late, which meant I didn't get home until 2pm.
My sister was picking me up at 2.45 to take me over to the school, so I stuffed my face with about 20 dry crackers and leaped into the shower, washed, dried hair and was ready just as my sister pulled up in front of my house.
A fantastic parents evening (or afternoon), I am one very proud Mummy!
My partner picked us up and dropped us home, they all cooked the ready meals while I did the ironing, 6.30pm I walked down to weight watchers, I lost another 11/2 pound.
Just as I was thinking my legs wouldn't carry me any longer, my bestie offers me a lift home, and just as I was accepting, daughter number one decides she wants to go looking for Pokémon, whatever they are!
So I continue walking up the village to meet her and her phone to zap these pokewhatsits.
Luckily her phone froze so we weren't out long, but I can assure you, Friday morning my youngest daughter and I both struggled to get out of bed!
Anyway, I have been using the drops at the beginning and end of the day and still wearing my contact in-between. I also discovered this thing, its like a eye mask, you heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds and then sit with it on they eyes for 10 mins. (No contact lenses though!) but it really works, I can feel the thick buttery oils which are blocking the ducts sort of melt and run down my face. Its a great thing, it cost me £15ish from Amazon, I wish I had got one sooner as it works better than the drops and is easier for me to do myself as when my contact lenses are out I cant see my face let alone put drops in AND you even have a excuse for sitting with your feet up for 10 minutes!

Nifty eye mask comes in its own case for hygiene and to store it safely, its reusable.

Its fab, I am very pleased with it x