Does anyone know what this is?

[FngKestrel]

Some years ago, I developed this mark on my eye. Understandably worried, I've had doctors look at this thing and they tell me it's nothing to worry about. However, I notice that the appearance of this thing coincided with me improperly wearing contacts for too long at a time. Has anyone ever heard of this happening with prolonged contact lens use?

With the advent of the internet and some research, I think this is a nevus, which is supposed to be a freckle like thing. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

I've had optometrists look at it and check my retina and they've all given me a clean bill of health, but I'm paranoid about this thing.



Edit: I amended the title to give a heads up to readers.

[coash]

jez man put a warning on your title

nice eye

[hannukah harry]

no clue... it almost looks like you got a little pop (soda) in your eye and it dried there.

[Irishsean]

Thats some scary looking stuff. The doctor said don't worry about it? Scary... Find a new doc.

[raeanna74]

I am NOT a Dr, or medically trained. But here's my instincts on this.

Hubby and I have both been diagnosed with "Moles"/Nevus inside our eyes. We've both gotten explanations for this from separate optomotrists. They have told us both that it's very common to have moles inside the eyes. They have told us that sometimes we can develop new moles as a result of age, too much sun exposure or a minor injury that we might not even be aware of. The optomotrists see these and mark these on their charts on our yearly visits but as long as the number does not increase rapidly or the moles don't increase in size then there isn't much to worry about. It does happen but apparently is somewhat uncommon for these moles to grow into a cancer. In that case there isn't much that the optomotrist can do. Depending on where the mole is they can OCCAISIONALLY have an operation performed and the melanoma removed. Both of our optomotrists said that usually though the eye has to be removed AFTER tests have been performed to confirm the presence of cancer that would spread.

Here is my theory. You may have slightly injured your eye by wearing the contacts too long. A "mole" - collection of melanin was formed. As long as this doesn't spread, get larger, or cause you pain it's likely there is nothing to be concerned about.

My question is this. Why haven't your optomotrists explained to you what they believe this is? If they're not sure then in my opinion they shouldn't ignore it until they DO know what it is. Next time you see your optomotrist you should ask them WHAT it is and insist that they explain it to you. If they won't take the time I would suggest finding a new optomotrist. The patient who is the best informed about all their medical conditions whether they be dangerous or not is the best equipped to care for himself. You will know if something changes that you need to contact someone for help instead of saying "Well they said not to worry about it."

This is just my theory/unmedical opinion. Hope it helps.

[FngKestrel]

Originally Posted by raeanna74

I am NOT a Dr, or medically trained. But here's my instincts on this.

Hubby and I have both been diagnosed with "Moles"/Nevus inside our eyes. We've both gotten explanations for this from separate optomotrists. They have told us both that it's very common to have moles inside the eyes. They have told us that sometimes we can develop new moles as a result of age, too much sun exposure or a minor injury that we might not even be aware of. The optomotrists see these and mark these on their charts on our yearly visits but as long as the number does not increase rapidly or the moles don't increase in size then there isn't much to worry about. It does happen but apparently is somewhat uncommon for these moles to grow into a cancer. In that case there isn't much that the optomotrist can do. Depending on where the mole is they can OCCAISIONALLY have an operation performed and the melanoma removed. Both of our optomotrists said that usually though the eye has to be removed AFTER tests have been performed to confirm the presence of cancer that would spread.

Here is my theory. You may have slightly injured your eye by wearing the contacts too long. A "mole" - collection of melanin was formed. As long as this doesn't spread, get larger, or cause you pain it's likely there is nothing to be concerned about.

My question is this. Why haven't your optomotrists explained to you what they believe this is? If they're not sure then in my opinion they shouldn't ignore it until they DO know what it is. Next time you see your optomotrist you should ask them WHAT it is and insist that they explain it to you. If they won't take the time I would suggest finding a new optomotrist. The patient who is the best informed about all their medical conditions whether they be dangerous or not is the best equipped to care for himself. You will know if something changes that you need to contact someone for help instead of saying "Well they said not to worry about it."

This is just my theory/unmedical opinion. Hope it helps.

Thanks for your concern. Let me go into a little more detail. I've been without healthcare for many years and only recently got vision benefits from my current job. This was definitely something I brought up with my optometrist.

The old optometrist that I talked to was over 10 years ago and trust me, was quickly kicked to the wayside. At the time, I'll admit I wasn't as concerned and didn't give it much thought or follow-up.

Nowadays, I'm like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

The current optometrist did explain to me that it was like a freckle and what to watch out for (change in size and shape, which there hasn't been for years) and did examine my retina to check that there weren't any problems.

I think my other question is that, if it's common, why haven't I met anyone with the same problem? raeanna74, I'm glad that you related your experiences. Thanks. If anything, it'll give me some peace of mind.

[braisler]

I work in vision research and many of my colleagues are ophthalmologists. If you have only been seen my optometrists up until now, you need to get an appt. with an ophthalmologists pronto. Optometrists are to opthalmologists what physicians assistants are to internal medicine specialists. Optometrists are great if you need your vision corrected with glasses or contacts but, frankly, they are just not qualified to diagnose more legitimate problems with the cornea (where your issue is) or the retina. You mentioned that you have health and vision coverage with your current job. Take advantage of it, man. Get yourself to a real health professional.

No offense is meant to any optometrists out there. I just consider it important to get the appropriate care from the most suitable professional available.

My $.02

[raeanna74]

Originally Posted by FngKestrel

I think my other question is that, if it's common, why haven't I met anyone with the same problem? raeanna74, I'm glad that you related your experiences. Thanks. If anything, it'll give me some peace of mind.

Hubby's "freckle" was discovered when he had a head injury that temporarily damaged a nerve that controled an eye muscle on one eye. The nerve eventually healed and he's not cross eyed anymore. During that time though he had an opthomologist take pictures of the inside of his eye and examine every last inch carefully. He mentioned the freckle to hubby and explained that he didn't need to worry but should check at times with his optomotrist that the freckle has not changed in size or shape. I then mentioned it to my optomotrist when I visited. It was mentioned just in conversation and that I was surprised you could get them in your eyes even. That was when he told me I had a freckle in one of my eyes. He explained that usually they don't even mentioned them in the same way that Dr's don't mention every freckle they see on your face or back unless they've noticed a change or that the mole/freckle is quite large. He said they're so common that they're pretty much unremarkable to optomatrists. Personally this goes against how I feel about my body. I personally want to know every detail. Though that's partly because I have had some melanomas removed already and have been cautioned by my Dr to watch for more.

[Charlatan]

Looks like the oil-like substance that marks you as having an alien symbiote inside you... I know this is true because I saw it on the X-Files.

[Cowman]

If its not cancerous or anything, that thing is fucking cool. Seriously, it adds some serious character to your face. Do you get a lot of comments on it?

[FngKestrel]

Originally Posted by Cowman

If its not cancerous or anything, that thing is fucking cool. Seriously, it adds some serious character to your face. Do you get a lot of comments on it?

A few comments here and there. Most women are repulsed by it and most guys are of the 'fucking cool' camp.

Thanks for the advice people. I called my vision plan the other day to get an appointment with an opthamologist. Just awaiting a response now.

[Cadwiz]

Personally, I think you are just full of shit and it finally started running out.
Just kidding. It does look kinda wild though.