eye infection.

I suppose I knew we were at risk of catching all sorts of things that enter through our doors.

Lice seemed inevitable; Hepatitis B was a scare; dengue seemed probable. We’re just trying to stay immunized for some and flexible with all.

When a dad showed up with what looked like really bad allergies a few days ago, I gave him some antihistamine. When his daughter and son had the same symptoms a few days later, I asked a friend and waited to see if the children’s antihistamine would cut it.

And then I woke up with a burning eye that wouldn’t open, and we made a trip to the eye doctor ourselves. Now I know that the father, son, and daughter were in much more pain than I thought. It was much more contagious than I thought, as well.

I was a little nervous to go to the doctor too; I haven’t always had good experiences here in Mae Sot. As we left, Stephen’s evaluation was, “That clinic was pretty legit. She even had the fake eye to point out where the infection was.”

Glad we’re setting such high standards.

My real challenge has proven to be not wearing contact lenses. I have glasses but don’t wear them–ever–because they hit a pressure point and give me a painstaking headache. The eye doctor straightened the ear pieces to hit the pressure point less, but while this does work, it makes the glasses not hook behind your ear. Thus, if I lean forward, my glasses fall off. When I’m reading, this is a minor inconvenience. While cooking, it can become more of a hassle, depending on what my glasses fall into. The same is true in the bathroom. Ultimately, the real challenge comes on the motorbike.

So now Stephen is driving me everywhere, and I am wearing headbands to hold my glasses in place. And I am putting in eye drops and ointments seven times throughout the day.

It seems I am always quite a mess around here.