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Today I finally went to the eye doctor. My left eye had been bothering me for about 3 weeks. I keep seeing spots, and when I close my eye, I feel a slight pain. I had no classes today because of testing, so I asked a Japanese friend to take me to the eye doctor. One thing that is interesting about Japan, is the only place you have to make an appointment is the dentist. For the doctor, hair cuts, etc., you just show up and hope for the best. And that is what I did. I only had to wait for ~30 min, which I think is good for a Monday (this is a holiday for many businesses and galleries). The clinic I went to was staffed entirely by women. There was only one doctor, and about 6 helpers. The office had a main desk where we signed in, many benches where people could wait, and behind the desk was a green hospital-type curtain. We were called, and waited behind the curtain. This area was quite spacious, and had 3 chairs where patients could wait. In front of me was the doctor, assisted by two women. One handed her he charts, and the other held a patient's head while s/he looked into the eye mechanism. This lady was also in charge of putting in and taking out people's contacts. To my right, were many other women. Some of them were administering eye exams to patients. The others were busy with contacts. One lady was examining contacts under a microscope, then drawing pictures of them. Another lady was doing something with vials containing contacts. It was like a well-oiled machine. So when it was my turn, I moved to another chair, where the lady asked me questions, checked my eyes, and the assistant held my head while I looked at the light. The whole eye exam took about 2 minutes. I was told that I have "flying floaters" in my eyes, and that there is no problem at all, just a fact of aging and nature (and I'm only 22!). I also discovered that I am getting fat. I have been experiencing pain when I close my left eyelid. The reason: fat buildup. I don't know the English word for it, but apparently, there are oils in your eyes that flow through tubes. My eye had some flowage problems, and is now backed up. The oil has been accumulating a fat glob which has been growing bigger and bigger, creating a clogged artery, so to speak. It is now large enough to cause discomfort, but not big enough to be cut off. The reason for this occurring is unknown, but there is a theory that it is caused by a lack of Vitamin A, and not enough vegetables in the diet. Since the fat can't be cut off, I am to put antibiotic drops in my eye 3 times a day. This really sucks because I can taste it (I know that sounds weird). It goes in my eye, then it stings, therefore making my eyes and nose water, which causes me to sniff, which sucks the stuff into the back of my throat where it haunts me for about half an hour. Not pleasant tasting stuff at all. But I digress... The best part of this whole adventure was the price. I brought tons of money, because I heard it would be expensive since optical probably wasn't covered by my insurance. That was wrong. The doctor visit cost me 700 yen (not even $7), and the medicine cost 390 yen (~$3.50). Even if I had had to pay 100% of the cost, it would have been cheap. But only paying 20% is great. I love this country! Valerie Straayer |