What was supposed to be a routine doctor’s appointment turned into a strange experience for a woman when her eyes unexpectedly turned bright green following the consultation.
Artist and photographer Margerita B. Wargola, who goes by @MargoInIreland on social media, described how she “blinked and everything went yellow.”
Two experts spoke with Bored Panda to explain exactly what caused the incident and whether Margerita should expect any dangerous side effects.
Highlights
- A woman was left with bright green eyes during what was supposed to be a routine eye exam.
- She said the nurse immediately acknowledged the mistake, "panicked," and apologized several times.
- Eye specialists explained whether the accident is likely to cause any harmful side effects.
Image credits: MargoInIreland
“This is not a filter. No, it isn’t,” the woman said in her video, opening her eyes wide to highlight the fluorescent green color.
Margerita explained that the nurse who examined her was “surprised” and admitted she had made a mistake during the eye exam.
“She was surprised by the intensity of the colouration and then she realised what happened. We both panicked,” the woman wrote in the caption of her now-viral video, filmed from her car after the exam.
Image credits: MargoInIreland
The nurse apologized to her several times but “unfortunately, [my eyes] stayed stained.”
Margerita didn’t specify which eye test caused her eyes to go from blue to green, only saying that it was performed using “one of those crazy-looking machinery” and that she had undergone several different tests that day.
According to Margerita, the nurse forgot to ask whether she was wearing contact lenses, causing her lenses to become stained.
“She did not tell me what she’s going to do,” she added. “She literally squirted the drops into my eyes without telling me what she’s doing and why.”
Image credits: MargoInIreland
Asked about the accident, Mark Gillies, an ophthalmologist and head of the Medical Retina Unit at Sydney Eye Hospital, told Bored Panda that it appeared the nurse had used fluorescein without removing the patient’s contact lenses.
Fluorescein is a dye applied to the outer surface of the eye to diagnose certain conditions.
As Gillies explained, the substance is also used as a contrast dye for retinal angiography, an imaging test of the retina, the layer of tissue at the back of the eye.
Image credits: MargoInIreland
It is injected directly into a vein in the arm. The fluorescent dye then travels to the blood vessels in the retina, highlighting them so doctors can look for conditions that might affect the patient’s vision.
However, the nurse in Margerita’s case likely used it for another reason.
“This lady probably would have had it instilled as an eye drop to check to see if there were any erosions on the surface of the cornea, which can occur with contact lens wear,” Gillies said.
Fluorescein is also used to diagnose dry eye, a condition in which insufficient tears can damage the surface of the cornea, the transparent front part of the eye.
Image credits: MargoInIreland
Asked whether Margertia would experience any harmful side effects after the incident, Gillies concluded, “Usually, the lenses would be removed before fluorescein, but I doubt she will come to any great harm.”
Keith Martin, managing director at the Centre for Eye Research Australia, explained that Margertia will have to throw away her stained contact lenses.
“Fluorescein is routinely used as part of normal eye examinations for a variety of reasons, including as part of measurement of eye pressure or assessment of ocular surface damage,” he told Bored Panda.
Martin added that the drops are “very safe, so no long-term adverse effects are likely, but the contact lenses may well need replacing.”
Fortunately, Margarita laughed off the accident, which she said caused her to temporarily see everything “with a kind of green tint.”
The photographer even joked that she could use the green contact lenses for St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland.
"It was fun. I’m not mad at all,” she said in a follow-up video. “I don’t know why it happened to me, but I’m fine.”
Image credits: Ksenia Chernaya/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment, according to the World Health Organization. The leading causes of vision impairment are refractive errors and cataracts.
Vision loss can affect people of all ages. However, most people with vision impairment or blindness are over the age of 50.
Those who wear contact lenses should know that they require a certain amount of care and attention.
While disposable lenses can be worn for anywhere from one day to a month, reusable lenses can last up to a year, the Cleveland Clinic notes.
Image credits: Alexander Grey/Pixabay (not the actual photo)
Contact lenses have expiration dates, which are printed on the box.
Using expired lenses can pose several risks, including infections, reduced lens quality, and making them more prone to tearing, which could result in pieces of the lens cutting into the eye and injuring it.
Even people with 20/20 vision need to see an eye doctor. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends having an eye exam at least once a year, especially for those with risk factors such as vision loss, diabetes, or a family history of eye disease.