Almost a 4th year! It’s crazy to think about how fast the time has flown! I saw a patient last week for his annual comprehensive eye exam. What’s so cool about that?….I did his comprehensive eye exam last year too. Whoa. He was also my first glaucoma patient so I recognized him right away. It was wonderful to be able to provide care to someone I was already familiar with. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing new faces. I just like to build relationships more.
I had a great experience today with 20 year old patient. Her problem was obvious when she walked in– red blood-shot eyes. She complained of itchy, scratchy, watery eyes. Taking a closer look, she had swollen eye lids and bumps all over inside her eye lids. Allergies. A few minutes later I had her out the door and much happier! Those red eyes that she’s been dealing with should be much better by next week.
Speaking of allergies, I also had a patient last week in teen clinic that had the most swollen eye I’ve seen yet. The kid was just there because he couldn’t see the board at school. No other complaints. No itching, blur at near, or double vision. Just a bit blurry. During my routine exam, I pulled down his lower lid and a swollen pouch practically popped right out at me. Yikes! I put it back in, paused for moment to collect myself and then pulled down the lid again. Pop! “That’s not right” I thought. That’s when I noticed that his eyes were a bit puffy all around. I felt around his eyes and it was spongy where it should have been firm. For how swollen his eyes were, his body sure did a good job hiding it. I would have expected the kid to come in weepy, itchy, and agitated with how swollen his eyes were instead. Instead, it took me asking, “Are you sure you’re eyes don’t itch?”
Moral of the story: If your eyes itch or water, come see us. Tis the season for allergies and we have a lot we can do to help you and your friends. Suffer no more.
Besides all the fun stuff I see in clinic, SCO’s Optometric Private Practice club was able to host Justin Bazan, O.D., from Park Slope Eye in Brooklyn, NY. He spoke on Old School vs New School Marketing. Wow. The way we should be reaching out to patients is so different. Phonebook? Forget it. Facebook? Embrace it. Dr. Bazan doesn’t even have a phone to his office anymore! Everything is handled by his website including questions and appointment scheduling. Dr. Bazan was a very engaging speaker and really helped out club finish the year with a bang.
That’s it for now. I’ll be attending a conference in Las Vegas in a few weeks where I’ll be meeting with all the other current optometry school private practice club presidents and President-Elects. I’ll let you know how it goes!