Episcleritis

So, I don't know how many of you know this, but I suffer from chronic and painful "red eye". This means my eye gets really red occassionally, sometimes lasting from 2-6 days.

I've always thought it was dry eyes, but Visine hasn't really helped with the pressure and pain in my eye. So, one popped up again Monday morning, and Graham, dear husband he is, booked me an appointment with an opthalmologist today.

The good news is, it's not dry eyes.

The bad news is, it may be due to an autoimmune disease. I have what's called episcleritis. Luckily, I have the less severe form of inflammation. Scleritis can lead to blindness.

These diseases are scary things, like lupus, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. I got really freaked out when the doctor told me I'd have to take steroids (prednisone), but it's just prednisone eye drops. Thank goodness!

Anyways, tests for autoimmune diseases are really expensive, so I don't think I'll be doing them anytime soon. I'd rather not think about it now. Yikes.