My doctor gave me some wrong advice recently

Doctors sometimes can give you unhelpful advice in some areas
@innertalks (23736)
Australia
February 10, 2016 5:52pm CST
Just recently, I have been suffering from dry eyes. All those hours, spent on my computer, have not helped. They have been so dry, that they have stopped me from sleeping at night. I love to sleep, because I love to dream. I was waking up at 3.00 am, in the morning, every night. My eyes were too dry, and painful for me to even try and close them again. Awake now, I would blink a few times, and look around the room, up and down, right to left, doing a few eye exercises, to try to get the moisture back into my eyes again. Blinking helps to lubricate our eyes, giving them a "water" wash each time that we blink. We blink more during the day, when our eyes are open, and less at night, when our eyes are closed. Our eyes dry out then more when we are sleeping, but even during the day, dry eyes can act to restrict our blinking. I could not get back to sleep again, after waking up, until around 6.00 am. Then I would have a dream. The good thing was that my alarm, going off at 6.30 am in the morning, would wake me up, and I did then, at least, remember my dream. My dreams, and my dream life, were being affected too. Dreams involve rapid eye movement. My eyes were too dry to allow this. From dreaming 5 or 6 dreams every night, I went back to dreaming perhaps only one, or perhaps two. I went to my doctor, a general practitioner, about it then. He told me that the eyes, being naturally salty, I should bathe them in warm water, with a little salt added to it, and dissolved in it. I followed his advice, for three months. My dry eye condition worsened. Even during the day, it was giving me such a big problem now. I ended up going to an eye doctor then, a specialist, in the optometry field. She told me that my doctor's advice was the worst thing that anyone could have told me to do. The use of the salt would only further dry out my eyes. Salt is a drying agent, often used to dry meat. Also, she mentioned that the chlorine in our water supply would tend to dry my eyes out further, as well. She suggested I boil water, let it then cool down to lukewarm, and then use that instead. The chlorine is boiled off, when you do this. She also prescribed some drops for me to use, as well. Has anyone else here got any stories about their getting such misinformation from someone that you would expect to know better? My doctor was probably just guessing his answer right off of the top of his head. Not a very good thing to do when you are a doctor!
3 people like this
5 responses
@Shavkat (141906)
• Philippines
11 Feb 16
That's a reason why some doctors to have a malpractice case. They should know best and be accurate of what kind of treatment should be administered to their patients.
2 people like this
@Shavkat (141906)
• Philippines
11 Feb 16
@innertalks This guy is playing safe in his profession. I think he needs more experience in clinical set up.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23736)
• Australia
11 Feb 16
@Shavkat Yes, I wonder if I should mention it to him next time that I see him. I am a bit hesitant to speak up to these type of people, who are "expected" to know what they are talking about!
@innertalks (23736)
• Australia
11 Feb 16
Yes, many people here do try to sue mistakes made by their doctors, and sometimes this is good I suppose, achieving some type of a result for them, but in the long run, the poor doctor's become more and more afraid to diagnose anyone in depth then. This leads them to just refer all cases off to specialists, as perhaps this guy might have been better off doing too, especially when he didn't know what to really do in my case, or so it seemed.
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
10 Feb 16
My eyes are also very dry. I went to the eye doctor recently and he said to use one of tear solutions on the market. It does not help much. I might try the boiled water. My eyes are irritated and often painful from the dryness.
@innertalks (23736)
• Australia
11 Feb 16
You can become a bit of a devil when you have red eyes, not me yet though! LOL
The eye specialist advised me to use one type of drop at night, and another one in the daytime. I was advised to use one called Hyloforte during the day, and Polygel, during the night. To tell you the truth, because these two were overly expensive here in Australia, and also before I went to buy them I researched them on the internet too. The polygel was more a cream, rather than a drop. I did not like the long list of possible side-effects listed there. I am also allergic to some drops, and to the preservatives in them. I went with one called systane, which are single dose drops, in preservative free vials. I did not follow the specialist's recommendation blindly, because here in Australia these specialist people, doctors included, all work hand in hand with the large pharmaceutical companies, prescribing usually the most expensive brands available.
@innertalks (23736)
• Australia
11 Feb 16
The eye specialist also mentioned that you can use distilled water, which you can buy at supermarkets, but the boiled water does the trick for me.
@GardenGerty (169448)
• United States
11 Feb 16
For dry eyes I just would buy "artificial tears" as they are perfect for the eyes.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23736)
• Australia
11 Feb 16
The packet of the one I am using
"artificial tears" well, it sounds natural enough, in an artificially sounding way..LOL.. That's a general name, that covers many brands. The one I am using, called systane, fits under that banner too. "Artificial Tears" Generic Name: ocular lubricant (OK yoo lar LOO bri kant) Brand Name: Artificial Tears, Celluvisc, Clear Eyes CLR, GenTeal, Hypotears, Isopto Tears, Lacri-Lube S.O.P., Liquitears, Moisture Drops, Oasis Tears, Opti-Free Rewetting Drops, optive, Refresh, Soothe, Systane, TheraTears, Ultra Fresh, Visine Tears
@lilnana1111 (2305)
• United States
22 Mar 16
OMG that's awful, I know doctors are human and they make mistakes too, but we usually hold them to a higher standard. I'm glad you went to a specialist, and got the right advice.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23736)
• Australia
22 Mar 16
Yes, sometimes a second opinion is really good to listen to too. Yes, nobody's perfect, everybody makes mistakes.
@Shiva49 (28371)
• Singapore
11 Feb 16
The eye is perhaps the most sensitive of organs and the doctor should have been more careful. As a layman, I know salt water is no go. I went on a cruise few years back and my eyes gave me trouble as they might have been extra sensitive. My eyes were tearing and a specialist suggested a major surgery to release the blockage. I spent a lot of money as his fees. Then I visited India and the doctor took one look and said it was a common fungus issue and I was cured within a couple of days! Lucky I did not go under the knife! siva
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23736)
• Australia
11 Feb 16
Yes, you were indeed very lucky that time (not to have gone under the knife). Excess tearing is a sign of dry eyes too, apparently. They are dry for a while, then suddenly tear profusely for a day or two to try to alleviate the problem. With a fungus, perhaps they teared too, to try and wash away the infection/bacteria etc.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (28371)
• Singapore
12 Feb 16
@innertalks I think so too - siva
1 person likes this