2009.01.15 03:45:06

John McDaniel

#3…Eye Drops are the Devil

There is no gigantic news flash here but I don’t enjoy dealing with dozens of patients daily that view eye drops as equivalent to a colo-rectal exam with a bulldozer.  I’ve never met an eye doctor that enjoys delivering the drops or taking comments/questions from patients regarding the “traumatic” experience.  We all recognize that drops aren’t fun.  Only the most “interesting” patients report to enjoy them (these are usually the same patients that report a strong affinity to entertainment activities requiring lighter fluid, swords, tin foil, and high voltage).  I’ve also noticed a direct positive correlation between how comfortable the patient is with you and the amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth exhibited upon instillation.  You should see and hear my wife howl and kick and scream (and that is just during acuities!).  I kid because she won’t read this.

I doubt that I can say anything new regarding the hated eye drops.  I mean, really, how can anything new be said about something that has been talked about so much, so passionately, for so long?  It can’t.

The most amazing drops related story I’ve ever encountered was a doctor that confessed to me that they (that is the plural meaning the genderless singular in this case – just to be clear) didn’t dilate many patients because they hated the battle over the drops.  They just gave up.  I was stunned.  I was disappointed as well.

The reality is that those “dreaded” drops were the doorway to modern optometric practice.  Without those privileges we wouldn’t be close to where we are today as a profession.  And many heartfelt thanks to all those that fought so hard and so well the legislative battles that produced the diagnostic pharmaceutical privilege we enjoy today.  I know it isn’t funny but it is true.

Le Meas,

John McDaniel, OD, MLHR
President/Founder
Waugoo Consulting Group, LLC
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