2009.02.04 00:59:47

John McDaniel

#2…”That Light is So Bright”

I should be more empathetic on this one but I am not.  I tear up with concurrent blepharospasm like crazy when having fundoscopy and/or BIO performed on me.  That said, this comment drives me a little crazy.  It is the addendum comments that really make me crazy.  When “that light is so bright” is followed by comments such as “do you really have to do this?” or “it burns so bad!” I lose any potential empathy for the patient.  I realize that having the sun essentially jammed onto your retina is not as fun as a water park slide but it isn’t equivalent to water boarding either.

Along with giggling at the acuity chart, telling me they are legally blind without their glasses, or claiming that their replacement schedule for contact lenses is two weeks this is a comment you are more likely to hear than not.  I understand that the discomfort is legitimate but aren’t there worse things that other doctors do to folks?  Is the bright light really the worst thing that has ever happened to you?  For my patients sake, I hope so, but logic tells me that just isn’t the case.  So many things could be happening to you in the name of diagnostic testing that, if considered, the bright lights will not seem so bad.  Think of the “evil” light next time you are scheduled for a colonoscopy, bone marrow biopsy, digital prostate exam, mammogram (so I’ve been told), annual gynecological exam (again, under the category of so I’ve been told), or untold other less than pleasant tests.  Now that light doesn’t seem so bad, does it?

Le Meas,

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