Are you afraid of ME?
All of us at some time or other must have opened our window curtains in the morning and found that we are unable to see across the road. Now, when this happens there is no need to panic. There may be a simple explanation, either we might have mis-set our alarms and got up at the middle of the night or there might be a strong dense morning fog clouding the vision.
Circumventing similar situations, I tried to check the time in my wall clock. The dial was misty and I could not read the time. I rubbed my eyes and had a relook. But I miserably failed. I could see a halo around the clock. Had I developed cataract at such an early stage? I slowly read the time as quarter past two.
I went back to bed and continued my dream ... I woke up the next morning to the buzzer by the milk vendor. I had a cup of coffee which was very refreshing. After my morning ablutions, I was preparing for my office lazily. I had an uneasy irritation in my left eye. I had a careful look in the mirror. I was taken aback. There was no mistaking. I had contracted the ubiquitous Madras eye! I knew I had in store, a week’s unsolicited privation and isolation. Inevitable of course!
This epidemic----- Madras eye returns year after and has an eye on everyone, wary or unwary. Are you suffering from irritation in the eyes? Have you been rubbing your eyes quiet a bit? Well, this may not be just another allergy. You could be experiencing a bout of conjunctivitis. Americans call it ‘Pink Eye’. In Tamilnadu they proudly call it Madras eye. The local political leaders have not yet led a protest march to rename the epidemic as “Chen-Eye”.
Madras eye, these two words were already ringing in every nook and cranny of my township. No sooner the north east monsoon announced its arrival, at the time of Deepavali, the stormy conditions and the conjunctivitis were not far behind. The central calm region of the storm is called “eye” for whatever reasons. It may or may not get showers but definitely it heralds the advent of ‘Madras Eye’- the monsoon special!
I’d so assiduously kept the Chicungunya away from me but I was caught up with ME (in short for Madras Eye). My wife, having seen my predicament, isolated me from the rest. I was confined to a single room. She searched and located the “Dark Glasses” and left it on the table along with eye drops and other paraphernalia.
I rang up my boss and told him that I would be a bit late to work as I had to consult a doctor. He asked me sympathetically: “What’s wrong?” I just uttered: "Madras…." and he completed the second word instantly. He expressed his profound sympathies and his tone sounded very grave. He advised me to stay at home and join only after I got completely cured of it. Whenever I wanted to cry off from work for a week, even for a genuine reason, my request never used to get granted. But this time, “Madras Eye” had done the trick!
I had all the time at my disposal due to an unforeseen holiday. I went through the newspaper columns from first to last. There was enough reporting on Madras Eye. It had made its appearance at all the major cities and towns. Bangalore, Trivandrum, Pondicherry, had already come on the map of the Madras Eye. And the list was growing by the day. The report said that Conjunctivitis is caused by a group of viruses called Adenovirus. However, the medical doctors assured that this viral infection could not spread by air. Then, how did I get it? I had just seen a person last evening at the milk vending shop. Was he the culprit neutron for this likely chain reaction?
I don’t underestimate Madras Eye anymore. Once bitten, I was complacent. I was overtly confident that I wouldn’t have to worry about ME anymore. But I was proved ‘doubly’ wrong. Now I’ve become ‘trebly’ alert. By the end of the evening, my ‘EyeQ’ had gone up tremendously. I understand that our body develops lifelong immunity once affected by some viral infections like small pox. It will spare one for one’s life. But viral conjunctivitis- Madras Eye is not so magnanimous after all!
My attention fell on one of the features on ‘Animal Care’. A pet owner wanted to know whether dogs were also vulnerable to Madras Eye. The doctor replied in affirmative. He declared that dogs were not only vulnerable to Madras Eye but also to cataract. He boasted that the surgery for cataract was not difficult; it was the postoperative care that might be difficult. If your dog scratched its eye, you would be in trouble. So one had to make a choice. I quickly turned the pages. I did not want to read further on the subject.
With nothing much to do, I became nostalgic. I recalled my earlier tryst with ME. That was at least 5 years ago. My entire family had come under its supercilious influence. It was my son, the then 5-year old, who picked up first and set the eye balls rolling! It was a herculean task to handle him during those 4-5 days. He would resist us every time we wanted to put the eye drops in his eyes. One of those evenings, my wife attempted to put the medicine in his eyes and once again, my son began to put up a stiff fight. She tried to appeal to his reason. She said to him: “Won't you let me put the drops in? If not, you know what will happen. Daddy will do it when he comes home, and you know he'll just hold you down and do it!” He thought that over for a second and then, let her do it. I was watching the episode from a distance. I was asking myself: “Could I do it?” They were still not aware that my eyes too had already got the glint. I knew that I was heading for a worst case scenario.
This time, my wife and son put me in quarantine and went ahead with their routines. My wife ordered before leaving for her office that I should wear dark glasses, and use separate soaps, towels, and other articles to prevent further proliferation. I was just cursing my plight. What a one-sided deal I was forced to enter!
With or without the eye drops, the duration of my suffering seemed to last for about the same amount of time and with similar levels of discomfort. Yes, this had to be taken with a bitter pill!!
With my swollen eye and acrid discharge I did not want to stir out, but I was to go to the bank to withdraw some money (of course, wearing my dark glasses). I approached a teller counter and stood in the queue. By now, the dark glasses had attained notoriety and dubious fame and even became synonymous with conjunctivitis. Even the known faces tried to look the other way and avoided the teller counter in which I was standing. I was greatly surprised that my turn came very soon at the teller counter. I knew why many left my queue and joined the other teller queue-just to avoid getting infected from ME. I wished them good luck! The bank official also disposed me off in the shortest possible time. I just enjoyed the experience and was surprised at what Madras eye could do to the efficiency at such counters!
After a week’s forcible sojourn (or quarantine?) at home, I attended the office and in the evening, I went to the bank again. I was surprised to see no customer in the teller counter. I immediately pushed my cheque and looked at the next teller counter which had a long queue. I was puzzled. I collected my money and looked at the bank official thankfully. I felt a mild tremor. He was wearing dark glasses! I left the counter in no time, without even bothering to check the cash collected at the counter. Trouble always has a knack of catching one napping. So friends, watch out for dark glasses!
Circumventing similar situations, I tried to check the time in my wall clock. The dial was misty and I could not read the time. I rubbed my eyes and had a relook. But I miserably failed. I could see a halo around the clock. Had I developed cataract at such an early stage? I slowly read the time as quarter past two.
I went back to bed and continued my dream ... I woke up the next morning to the buzzer by the milk vendor. I had a cup of coffee which was very refreshing. After my morning ablutions, I was preparing for my office lazily. I had an uneasy irritation in my left eye. I had a careful look in the mirror. I was taken aback. There was no mistaking. I had contracted the ubiquitous Madras eye! I knew I had in store, a week’s unsolicited privation and isolation. Inevitable of course!
This epidemic----- Madras eye returns year after and has an eye on everyone, wary or unwary. Are you suffering from irritation in the eyes? Have you been rubbing your eyes quiet a bit? Well, this may not be just another allergy. You could be experiencing a bout of conjunctivitis. Americans call it ‘Pink Eye’. In Tamilnadu they proudly call it Madras eye. The local political leaders have not yet led a protest march to rename the epidemic as “Chen-Eye”.
Madras eye, these two words were already ringing in every nook and cranny of my township. No sooner the north east monsoon announced its arrival, at the time of Deepavali, the stormy conditions and the conjunctivitis were not far behind. The central calm region of the storm is called “eye” for whatever reasons. It may or may not get showers but definitely it heralds the advent of ‘Madras Eye’- the monsoon special!
I’d so assiduously kept the Chicungunya away from me but I was caught up with ME (in short for Madras Eye). My wife, having seen my predicament, isolated me from the rest. I was confined to a single room. She searched and located the “Dark Glasses” and left it on the table along with eye drops and other paraphernalia.
I rang up my boss and told him that I would be a bit late to work as I had to consult a doctor. He asked me sympathetically: “What’s wrong?” I just uttered: "Madras…." and he completed the second word instantly. He expressed his profound sympathies and his tone sounded very grave. He advised me to stay at home and join only after I got completely cured of it. Whenever I wanted to cry off from work for a week, even for a genuine reason, my request never used to get granted. But this time, “Madras Eye” had done the trick!
I had all the time at my disposal due to an unforeseen holiday. I went through the newspaper columns from first to last. There was enough reporting on Madras Eye. It had made its appearance at all the major cities and towns. Bangalore, Trivandrum, Pondicherry, had already come on the map of the Madras Eye. And the list was growing by the day. The report said that Conjunctivitis is caused by a group of viruses called Adenovirus. However, the medical doctors assured that this viral infection could not spread by air. Then, how did I get it? I had just seen a person last evening at the milk vending shop. Was he the culprit neutron for this likely chain reaction?
I don’t underestimate Madras Eye anymore. Once bitten, I was complacent. I was overtly confident that I wouldn’t have to worry about ME anymore. But I was proved ‘doubly’ wrong. Now I’ve become ‘trebly’ alert. By the end of the evening, my ‘EyeQ’ had gone up tremendously. I understand that our body develops lifelong immunity once affected by some viral infections like small pox. It will spare one for one’s life. But viral conjunctivitis- Madras Eye is not so magnanimous after all!
My attention fell on one of the features on ‘Animal Care’. A pet owner wanted to know whether dogs were also vulnerable to Madras Eye. The doctor replied in affirmative. He declared that dogs were not only vulnerable to Madras Eye but also to cataract. He boasted that the surgery for cataract was not difficult; it was the postoperative care that might be difficult. If your dog scratched its eye, you would be in trouble. So one had to make a choice. I quickly turned the pages. I did not want to read further on the subject.
With nothing much to do, I became nostalgic. I recalled my earlier tryst with ME. That was at least 5 years ago. My entire family had come under its supercilious influence. It was my son, the then 5-year old, who picked up first and set the eye balls rolling! It was a herculean task to handle him during those 4-5 days. He would resist us every time we wanted to put the eye drops in his eyes. One of those evenings, my wife attempted to put the medicine in his eyes and once again, my son began to put up a stiff fight. She tried to appeal to his reason. She said to him: “Won't you let me put the drops in? If not, you know what will happen. Daddy will do it when he comes home, and you know he'll just hold you down and do it!” He thought that over for a second and then, let her do it. I was watching the episode from a distance. I was asking myself: “Could I do it?” They were still not aware that my eyes too had already got the glint. I knew that I was heading for a worst case scenario.
This time, my wife and son put me in quarantine and went ahead with their routines. My wife ordered before leaving for her office that I should wear dark glasses, and use separate soaps, towels, and other articles to prevent further proliferation. I was just cursing my plight. What a one-sided deal I was forced to enter!
With or without the eye drops, the duration of my suffering seemed to last for about the same amount of time and with similar levels of discomfort. Yes, this had to be taken with a bitter pill!!
With my swollen eye and acrid discharge I did not want to stir out, but I was to go to the bank to withdraw some money (of course, wearing my dark glasses). I approached a teller counter and stood in the queue. By now, the dark glasses had attained notoriety and dubious fame and even became synonymous with conjunctivitis. Even the known faces tried to look the other way and avoided the teller counter in which I was standing. I was greatly surprised that my turn came very soon at the teller counter. I knew why many left my queue and joined the other teller queue-just to avoid getting infected from ME. I wished them good luck! The bank official also disposed me off in the shortest possible time. I just enjoyed the experience and was surprised at what Madras eye could do to the efficiency at such counters!
After a week’s forcible sojourn (or quarantine?) at home, I attended the office and in the evening, I went to the bank again. I was surprised to see no customer in the teller counter. I immediately pushed my cheque and looked at the next teller counter which had a long queue. I was puzzled. I collected my money and looked at the bank official thankfully. I felt a mild tremor. He was wearing dark glasses! I left the counter in no time, without even bothering to check the cash collected at the counter. Trouble always has a knack of catching one napping. So friends, watch out for dark glasses!
When I was entering my tenement, I found my neighbour –TVS in the second floor, climbing the stairs in dark glasses. I muttered to myself: “You too, TVS?”…He was on his mobile and yet noticed me entering my house. He wanted to come down and speak to me. I begged mentally: “Hey, stay on and don't remove your goggles”. Seeing the redness of my eyes and the remnant eye symptoms, he too took back his step. Who was afraid of whom?
He enquired whether I’d given a missed call. I said: “No”. By the by, will ME give a missed call? Emphatic NO.
We are always under the misconception that somehow, looking at a person with Madras Eye , would bring the disease upon us. But it never fails to bring back a smile for the fact that ‘we don’t have to look at one’!!
Next time when you have a similar experience of inability to see across the street after pushing aside your window curtains, you can add yet another reason for it, and it could be either due to the residual symptoms or the onset of Madras eye!! Now isn’t it an eye-opener?
Labels: Adenovirus, Madras Eye, Pink Eye
posted by Sashi @ 11:03 PM
12 comments
