Central Valley

This blog is long overdue but I am finally finding the time to write about my eye condition.

About a year and a half ago, there was a clear stringy discharge that developed from my eyes. It was quite persistent and would be in my eyes every morning. It would not hurt, and my eyes were not dry, frankly it was just irritating. I never thought much about them because I was too focused on school and I had no time to think about such a 'minute' problem. During this time, I was attending college in the central valley and my 'weapon of choice' were the Acuvue Oasys w/Hydraclear Plus. Before I moved, I lived in the bay area and wore frequency 55 contacts. So let's see what I used in the past:

2004-2007

Contacts: Frequency 55 by CooperVision

Lens Type: 1 year / soft contacts

Solution: ReNu by Bausch & Lomb (There was a recall/lawsuit in 2006)

Location: Bay Area

2007-2009

Contacts: Acuvue Oasys by Johnson & Johnson

Lens Type: 2 week / soft contacts

Solution: Opti-Free RepleniSH

Location: Central Valley

Recently

Contacts: Acuvue 2

Lens Type: 2 week / soft contacts

Solution: Opti-Free RepleniSH

Location: Bay Area

(I am in no way saying certain contacts or solutions are better than another. Depending on the contacts, they are made from certain materials that affect your eye differently.)

Many optometrists prescribe Acuvue Oasys simply because of their breathable material. It is stated that oxygen can pass in and out of the lenses quite easier than the older generation of contacts such as the Acuvue 2's.

As I was saying before, this stringy discharge started when I was living in the central valley where the air pollution is abundant; wikipedia states "The San Joaquin Valley now has the worst air quality in California, along with the highest asthma rates." Am I making a correlation with where I live and how the discharge developed? I'm just trying to state all the variables. I also spent a vast majority of my time on my laptop and many individuals should remember to blink in order to allow the tears to move around the cornea. I digress.

I finally had some time to visit an optometrist about my eye condition and they did not know what the clear discharge was. I was given a bottle of Alcon Naphcon A since the optometrist believed the discharge was due to allergies. I used up the bottle and it did not help reduce the amount of discharge present in my eyes.