TY - JOUR T1 - A patient's diary: episode 17 — Eyes on the blink JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 374 LP - 375 DO - 10.3399/bjgp08X280362 VL - 58 IS - 550 AU - John Salinsky Y1 - 2008/05/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/58/550/374.abstract N2 - I don't know why it is but life these days seems to bring one health problem after another. My pancreas has at last settled down (thanks to those excellent little enzyme tablets from the health food shop) and I thought I would be able to emerge from the shadow of the valley of Illness onto the sunlit uplands of Health. But alas, it was not to be. Last night the Eye Trouble started. At first I thought I was looking at a couple of black spots on the white bedroom wall (just between the wardrobe and the Canaletto). But then, when I moved my eyes, the spots moved as well! I switched my gaze to another part of the wall and, to my dismay, the black spots arrived there too, a fraction of a second later. They were following me round the room just like that picture of the Laughing Cavalier. I tried cleaning my glasses but that made no difference; I gave my eyes a vigorous rub which made them feel rather sore; but when I opened them again, the horrid spots were still there, dancing mischievously about. Well, naturally I feared the worst. A haemorrhage or a semidetached retina, tapping along with a white stick or maybe a guide dog, and I've never really got on with dogs.I woke early, hoping the spots would have disappeared in the night, but no, they were still there so I telephoned the … ER -