When you've got dirt in your eyes

When Damola heard that one of his colleagues had called in sick, he was a little bit irritated at the prospect of having to take up his colleague’s share of the day's work, which involved mowing the patch of lawn in front of the car park. He hurriedly completed his own duties then rolled out the lawn mower. He planned to get home early today. He was going to surprise his wife by making dinner tonight to mark their third wedding anniversary. She probably thought he had forgotten as usual.

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He hummed along to the music from his ear phone. He had just gone through the first few strokes when disaster struck. He hit a particularly rough patch and sent a spray of pebbles flying everywhere, some of which found their way into his eyes. Oh, no. He had looked for the protective goggles they usually wore when mowing the lawn, but couldn't find where his colleague put them, so he had carried on without them.

The pain was excruciating. Abandoning the job at hand, he quickly made his way to the reservoir of water by the corner, immersing his eye in it. He felt a little relief. Soon, a small crowd of sympathizers gathered round him.

"Your wife is breast feeding, isn't she? A little milk will work wonders" suggested Mrs Ade.

"No, use your urine. It is known to cure all sorts. Just make sure you dilute it with a little water", advised Baba Sege.

"There's this eye drop the doctor prescribe for me three months ago", said Mummy Dare as she rummaged through her bag. "I think it's in my bag somewhere. It may help".

Everyone seemed to have a piece of advice on what Damola should do. Eventually, he chose to go to Oga Emma's chemist shop. That seemed to be the best bet since it was just around the corner from his office. Oga Emma gave him an eye drop but he was in too much pain to ask what it was.

"Just put one drop three times a day", Oga Emma called after him as he hurried home, all thoughts of his special dinner plans temporarily forgotten.

By evening, he felt his eye was getting worse. The pain was increasing and he could barely see through his right eye.

"Are you sure you shouldn't go to the hospital?" his wife asked worriedly as he lay on his bed in pain.

"It's already late", he replied. "I'll go in the morning".

But the night was long and he soon started thinking about his friends' earlier suggestions. He decided to try the urine option. At least it came from his body. It should surely be put to good use, right? Unfortunately, it only made things worse and he wished he hadn't used it.

By morning, all he could think of was how to get to the hospital...

• When something accidentally gets into your eyes, see an eye doctor as soon as possible
• Do not put substances like breast milk and urine into the eye, they are likely to cause make things worse
• Be careful with eye drops purchased over the counter. Do not use eye drops that have not been prescribed for you by your eye doctor
• Be sure to use protective eye wear for work-related or household tasks

By Dr Ify Monye