I'd like to introduce you all to my meibomian cyst. Click on the picture at the bottom for a nice close up. It's harmless and benign, but unpleasant. There's a chance it will grow, become swollen, red and painful (and grotesque looking). Or it might even pop! So I went to the doctor. She took a look and said, "I've seen one of those before!" She got a very old book from her shelf and showed it to me. She never actually said the words: meibomian cyst. I don't think she knew how to pronounce it and she didn't want to take a chance. And then we logged onto the computer in her cluttered office and Googled meibomian cyst. Seriously. On Google.
Doctor: Google's really good for that.
Me (In my head): That's funny. I thought doctors were good for that.
She told me that I should try home remedies (hot compress) because I'll never receive treatment in New Zealand for something that is asymptomatic and relatively painless. But it can take 4-months to resolve. Or it can get worse. Prevention versus treatment, etc. The doctor said she could lie and say that it's painful and send me to an eye registrar, but that the eye registrars aren't stupid, they know what a meibomian cyst is, and they will send me home. I could pay privately for treatment, but there's probably a long queue for treatment anyway.
The doctor sat and waited for me to leave -- after printing off the remedies we found on Google! She gave me approximately the same information that my grandmother might have given me, if she was still alive. A hot compress fixes almost anything, after all -- or at least does no harm. In fact, my grandmother would have given me a cup of milky tea with too much sugar in it and a plate of cookies with her diagnosis too. And I'd have been happy.
Yesterday, a bill arrived for $30. This is the co-pay. I'm paying $30 to Google meibomian cyst with a doctor who doesn't want to pronounce it and can't treat it. I could have bought a lot of tea and cookies with that.
I've thought about it for a week or so.
And it's still dumb.
Doctor: Google's really good for that.
Me (In my head): That's funny. I thought doctors were good for that.
She told me that I should try home remedies (hot compress) because I'll never receive treatment in New Zealand for something that is asymptomatic and relatively painless. But it can take 4-months to resolve. Or it can get worse. Prevention versus treatment, etc. The doctor said she could lie and say that it's painful and send me to an eye registrar, but that the eye registrars aren't stupid, they know what a meibomian cyst is, and they will send me home. I could pay privately for treatment, but there's probably a long queue for treatment anyway.
The doctor sat and waited for me to leave -- after printing off the remedies we found on Google! She gave me approximately the same information that my grandmother might have given me, if she was still alive. A hot compress fixes almost anything, after all -- or at least does no harm. In fact, my grandmother would have given me a cup of milky tea with too much sugar in it and a plate of cookies with her diagnosis too. And I'd have been happy.
Yesterday, a bill arrived for $30. This is the co-pay. I'm paying $30 to Google meibomian cyst with a doctor who doesn't want to pronounce it and can't treat it. I could have bought a lot of tea and cookies with that.
I've thought about it for a week or so.
And it's still dumb.
4 comments:
I know how you get rid of that. Just tie a string around it, cut off the blood supply, and it will fall right off! Google that my friend! LOL.
mary
Good article - unfortunate situation. This gives me a little more perspective on the subject of public health and insurance. I don't think I will complain as vociferously about the private system here in the States. I know if I make enough noise I could probably get hair implants for my shoulders.
One thing I don't need is hair implants for my shoulders.
If they happen to you more than once it indicates that you may have a lot of dead skin cell build-up on the edge of your eyelids, preventing these glands from draining. Try a mild baby shampoo (safe for eyes) diluted with water on a clean wash cloth and wash eyes well with very warm water before bed ech night. Voila! They will not come back. Good Chalazion !
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