Eye Eye!

For he past few days I've been having a terrible time with me left eye. It's been sore and it feels like I have pink eye (or conjunctivitis for you biology students). If it hasn't fixed itself by tomorrow then I will have to make a stop at the urgent care clinic or the optometrist to get this rectified.

It's funny how certain ailments cause us to behave different. As an example, if our nose is bleeding we often just cram some tissue up there and tilt our head back. While the blood loss is probably greater than most people would ever experience from a simple cut or scratch we've told ourselves as a society that nose bleeds are hardly cause for alarm. Now, if that same amount of blood were coming from any other orifice we'd freak out and head for the hospital.

We treat different parts of our body in very different ways. While my condition has given me very heightened awareness of my own body, even I fall victim to a certain apathy in regards to certain conditions. For example, if I have a headache or migraine which I've started to develop this past year I just take some Tylenol and go about my business. It hurts and it's inconvenient, but it's hardly enough to stop me in my tracks. In contrast this eye fiasco has left me very uncomfortable and feeling actually "sick". That is to say, not at 100% capacity in terms of health. I think when it's our eyes, ears or mouth we exhibit special caution when things go awry. Our eyes are so sensitive and if we were to go blind we'd feel truly lost. Our ears let us hear, and to go deaf would be a terrible fate. And our mouths let us eat, and they show our smiles. If we've got cavities or a toothache we often tend to it immediately.

There are people I've dealt with in life who are very quick to curl up in a ball when they have the slightest ailment. They don't handle colds well, and bumps and bruises are cause for pity. I don't mean to single anyone out, but it's often women. I get frustrated by this because for one it usually comes across as a pity play and that's really low. Also a lot of people have a lot greater ailments they have to deal with on a day to day basis. Take someone who's got MS or Lupus. Two conditions that are all engrossing and life controlling. Sure, some of those patients will seek to garner sympathy for what's wrong with them, but a lot more of them will just silently cope.

I think the kind of people who roll with the punches in life well are more likely to keep a tight lip when it comes to personal ailments. This isn't because they're bottled up and have to put on a tough front. Instead they know that either it's a passing matter not worth mentioning, or it's a chronic condition that both they and their love ones don't need to be reminded about all the time. The sort of person who is quick to say, "Oh woe is me" are the kind of people who let you know when they got a paper cut or stubbed their toe. To them, pain and discomfort are matters to be announced in the vain attempt to receive relief for their infliction.

Next time you close your hand in a door or whack your head on something while standing up take a deep breath and just breathe out the pain. Don't hoot and holler and plead for sympathy, it's very unbecoming.