The blog formerly known as   Fake Plastic Fish

Category Archives: eye drops

January 16, 2014

Reducing Plastic by Staying Healthy

New Year’s Resolution #2: Generate less plastic waste from medicine and supplement packaging.

Okay, before I continue, I have to give the usual caveat:  I am not a doctor and nothing I write in this post or anywhere on this blog should be construed as medical advice.  I’m writing about my experience only.  Your mileage may vary.

Now that that’s out of the way, check out my stash of health-related plastic waste from 2013:

 

Let’s examine it row by row.

Boosting My Immune System

Top 2 rows:  With the exception of the ibuprofen (which I used over several years), all are cold/flu related products.  Like I mentioned last week, I got sick a lot in 2013.  … Read the rest

September 23, 2010

I Wish I Could See You

But I can’t because I’ve worn out my eyes in front of the computer, and I can’t see anything right now. Good thing I can touch type. But seriously, I need some help. My doctor suggested I go back to using the plastic-encased eye drops I used a few years ago when I had a cornea problem. So I did. And they didn’t even work. *Sigh*

Does that picture look blurry?  Because honestly I can’t tell.  My eyes refuse to focus.  Yesterday, I was looking at various fonts for a project I was working on, and I thought, “Ooh, that one looks nice.  It has a drop shadow under it.”  Um, a drop shadow that only I could see!

Some people would say I have Computer Vision Syndrome.  Eyes sore and red.  Double vision.  Headache.  I’ve had this problem intermittently for a few months now, but this week is the worst.  I know I need to lay off straining my eyes for a while.  But with the eye problems I’ve had in the past, I want a professional… Read the rest

July 6, 2007

Eye Drops

Every night I use one or two of these tiny single-use plastic vials of Refresh Endura eye drops and then throw them away (now, in my plastic purgatory, of course.) And each night I hope as I close my eyes that the drops will work and I’ll be able to open my eyes pain-free the next morning. I have a chronic condition called recurrent corneal erosion, and Refresh Endura drops are the only thing I’ve found, amid all the different drops and ointments and treatments that will work to keep it at bay.

Those who don’t use eye drops might be wondering why they don’t come in a bigger multi-use bottle that would use less plastic. The answer is that then the drops would have to contain preservatives to keep organisms from growing in them. Organisms that could cause blindness from an eye infection. Preservatives that can be very irritating and to which many people are sensitive or allergic.

So, here’s a case where I think the use of plastic… Read the rest