Earlier today a doctor used a laser beam to shoot a series of holes through my eyeballs. That sounds pretty bad, but I knew in advance he was going to do it, this was not a random attack. The experience was quite psychedelic and not at all painful. Still, it's another example of how annoying it can be to simply get older; if it's not one thing, it's another. Called a Yag capsulotomy, it was necessary as a result of my having had cataract surgery two years ago. Approximately 40% of all people who do so will require this laser treatment eventually, when a film develops that clouds the back of the new lens and their vision starts getting fuzzy. It's officially "posterior capsule opacification," but "fuzzy vision" nails it. In my case my vision wasn't all that fuzzy, but a recent eye exam revealed that the clouding had begun and it would surely worsen over time.
Many eye-drops were required during the extensive exam prior to the procedure, including a few to dilate my eyes. And while the actual laser shooting takes just about 30 seconds per eye, the dilation lasts for six hours or more. This is a drag, causing blurry vision and extreme sensitivity to light. Added to the constant barrage of floaters that look like bugs flying all around you as a result of the treatment, it's a dastardly combination that renders you all but blind behind your sunglasses for most of the day. The good news is that you're not really, and things will clear up considerably soon enough.
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