UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi me again,

I hope everyone had a lovely christmas, mine was really nice, but we did have a small incident that managed to kill the christmas spirit for a while and I am now kooing for some advice.

Of all the days, and all the eyes and all the people to have done it my mum managed to poke my newly grafted eye accidently with her finger. Initially it was very very painful. I spoke to a nurse on duty on the ward where I was after my op. She suggested increase eye drops to two hourly and take some pain killers and see how it goes.

I went to sleep for a few hours and when I woke up it was a lot less painful, still quite swollen and a bit red. Today it has been pretty fine it feels perhaps slightly swollen but its only a feeling it does not look bad.I have not taken any pain killers yet and the vision seems ok although its hard to tell if its any worse or not really.

Anyway my dilemma is that I am about a four hour drive from the hospital where I had the graft and I could go to the nearset eye hospital, which is Bristol, but Im not sure there is much point as they will not know what it looked like before the poke (it is apparently quite swollen anyway post op) and they dont have any notes. If it is no longer painful or doesnt look red or anything I am tempted just to leave it and wait untill I see my consulattnt back in sheffield on the 4th.

Sorry that was rather complicated to explain, but any helpful advice from fellow post graft people?

Thanks
Sophie

You do not say if you poked your mum in the eye to see how she liked it!

If the pain is going, personally I would not worry, the eye is very sensitive post op due to the pulling about it has undergone during the op and some nerves in the cornea will have been cut in removing the disk. It is reckoned that these nerve endings take 10 years to penetrate the grafted cornea. So it may be the nerve endings left in the old cornea that are oversensitive.

You say your vision is good and the pain has subsided it sounds you are doing fine. The stitches are quite strong so increasing the frequency of eye drops is good a one to kee the new cornea lubricated and also to preven infection.

Sounds like safty glasses are in order when you are near your mum

Hope this helps put your mind at rest, my grafts are fine after 18 years of rugby and motor racing and working in a variety of dangerous places.

Regards

Gareth

Thanks Gareth

I went to the eye hosptal at Bristol just to check it out today and all is fine, which is a relief, especially for my mum I think! Although she is now attempting to enforce the wearing of safety glasses. I have already developed a reputation since the op as I have started wearing darkish sunglasses out and about, apparently I look very Jackie O!

Soph

Glad it's OK, on sunny days I always wear my dark safety glasses as they stop grit getting in my eye and behind the lenses.

I hear plans are afoot for a 2005 confrence, perhaps we could both start a new KC fashion trend?