Lasik eye surgery...Is it for me?

For a person with myopia and astigmatism, the idea of Lasik eye surgery is like a dream come true. You can't imagine, unless you're in the same situation, how wonderful it would be to have 20/20 vision without the aid of glasses and/or contact lenses.

Since I've been using contact lenses, I've had at least five eye infections and increased sensitivity. For example, last month, something so severe happened to my eyes, and I don't even know what it was. I had run out of contact solution and was using the same stuff from the night before (big no, no--I know). When I put them in the next morning, my eyes were fine and I went to school, ready to learn! Throughout the day, my eyes became increasingly blood shot and began to burn painfully.

I took the lenses out, but the burning didn't stop. I could hardly open my eyes. I tried using saline to clean my eyes and was extra careful with hand washing. I felt like I was going to pass out, so I napped in my car over break. When I woke up my eyes were like normal, except for a slight dryness that never goes away. How was I supposed to go home now? I had no glasses, and I was afraid to put my lenses back in. I put them in anyway, and my eyes instantly began to burn again. I can honestly say I knew it was wrong to drive home in that state, but I had no choice. I'm lucky I made it in one piece. It took a good 3-5 days for my eyes to recover.

Now, imagine I had undergone Lasik eye surgery? Would situations like that ever occur? Could I finally be free of my poor eye sight? My optometrist seems to think so; she told me I would want it sooner or later. Still, I'm unsure...What if I wind up blind?

Research and talks with people who have had the surgery might reassure me. Watching actual procedures on YouTube has shown me what it's like. I don't know that I'd ever be willing to take the chance. Is the risk really worth it? Guess I'll find out...Here's a sample of the video I watched:



Jackdakota. (2006). My Lasik Eye Surgery. [Video]. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4kDC4sZ5Jg

Myopia

I was fairly young when I discovered I had myopia, around nine years of age. At the time, I didn't know what "near-sightedness" was. I didn't figure out that Myopia is the correct term for my condition until many years later. All I knew was that I couldn't see the chalk board, the detailed contours of my parents' faces or the sign we passed by in the car on the way to the shopping mall.

I also thought that glasses made me into a nerd or geek. My first pair of glasses was huge, oval shaped, blue and gold framed, coke-bottle-thick glasses. Let's just say I wasn't fond of wearing them. Soon, my vision became so bad; I wasn't even able to recognize my friends without my glasses! When I was fourteen I discovered the wonder that is the contact lens. By this time, I knew that my eyes were bad (worse than both of my parents--so bad I could see through my mom's glasses perfectly clearly with my contact lenses in) and that I had astigmatism. I still didn't understand what I had, what I was living with.

When I was seventeen and nearing the end of my introductory course in physics, I finally understood the concept of myopia. We were studying light and colour. We experimented with different lenses, and when we began drawing diagrams and calculating magnification it dawned on me that the lenses in my eyes are overly convex--that is they are "fat" or stretched into an oval shape. This means that the light sent through to the lenses of my eyes was refracted, forming an image that sits in front of the retina. This prevents the retina from producing a clear image. The picture below is a depiction of what happens in a myopic eye.
I learned that my glasses and contacts used concave lenses to refocus light onto the retina, so I can see clearly. One day, I hope to work in ophthalmology and explore more of the human eye. What I learned about my eyes not only helped me understand myself but also inspired my nursing practice. I can apply the same thirst for knowledge and understanding in clinical settings, and hopefully, improve the lives of my patients.