Drops

Two types of eye drops need to be used after a cataract procedure. Both are administered four times a day, one (the larger bottle, which is an antibiotic) for a week and the other for four weeks.

After the first eye was done I was called in for a check-up after three weeks, by which time using the drops was an established part of the daily routine. There was a four-week interruption when the first four weeks ended, and now here we go again.

The opticians insist that I'll need an all-clear from the hospital before they'll consider testing me for the new glasses I'll now need for reading and close vision, so I got myself a temporary off-the-shelf pair the day before I had the procedure for the second eye done. They're far from ideal, but there's no arguing with a price tag of €5.99 and at least I can read the instruction leaflets for the two drops. Even though my distant vision is better than ever and I now don't need to wear glasses all the time as I used to, I did persuade the opticians to replace the prescription lenses in my old glasses with clear glass. I've been be-spectacled since I was in my teens, and neither I nor my friends would recognise me if I stopped wearing them now.