Sometime last month, I suddenly experienced some real pain on the left side of my left eye. It was as though someone had poked me in the eye. It was still inflamed on the fourth day, so I went to my eye doctor on the fifth day.
She said that I was suffering from angular blepharitis. I said, “in English.” Angular I know, and I know that -itis is a suffix suggesting inflammation. Basically, I have a stye in the corner of my eye. I was to use warm compresses, massage, and use of prescription ointment two or three times a day.
From eMedicineHealth:
“A sty is an acute infection of the secretory glands of the eyelids. This common infection results from blocked glands within the eyelid. When the gland is blocked, the oil produced by the gland occasionally backs up and extrudes through the wall of the gland, forming a lump (chalazion), which can be red, painful, and nodular. Frequently, bacteria can infect the blocked gland, causing increased inflammation, pain, and redness of the eye, and even redness of the surrounding eyelid and cheek tissue.”
Incidentally, spelling-wise, both sty and stye are correct.
The treatment seemed to work well. It should, with a $25 co-pay for that tiny tube of antibiotics.
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Jackson Browne’s birthday is coming up on the 9th. I should link to the obvious title, Doctor My Eyes.