So there I was, greeted by a new face, when I went into the doctor's room. I have never seen her before and I must say she is quite young, probably in her 20s or at most early 30s? Anyway, she concluded I have an eye cyst caused by an inflamed hair follicle.
At the reception counter, I received an eye cream Foban Cream and eye drops Optichlor. The senior clinic assistant mumbled something to the junior assistant who handed me the medication and remarked it was for the eye. The senior assistant took a look at me and whispered something else, to which the latter commented that she didn't know and the stuff was prescribed by the doctor. This set my alarm bells ringing.
When I reached home, I immediately googled the medication given to me. To my horror, the first link showed that Foban Cream "should not be used near the eye and care should be taken when it is used near the eye". It was also stated that the cream should not be used to treat eye infections. A second link indicated that the "sodium salt of fusidic acid has been shown to cause conjunctival irritation. The ointment should not be used near the eye". A few links are attached below for reference:
- http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/consumers/cmi/f/foban.pdf
- http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/datasheet/f/Fobancrmoint.pdf
- http://www.mims.com/Singapore/drug/info/Foban%20Cream/
I went back to the clinic and asked the senior clinic assistant whether the cream can actually be used for my condition. She advised me to be careful not to let the cream touch the eye to which I exclaimed that it was impossible to do so for my case. So she suggested replacing it with another cream, which was what I had in mind. She took another cream Fucithalmic eye ointment and passed it to the doctor who approved the replacement.
This is a case where I think the senior clinic assistant has more experience than the junior doctor. I seriously do not know what would happen if I use the cream or if the senior assistant was not there at the right place at the right time. I don't think I would be sitting here typing this.
I would still go back to the same clinic but I will never want to see this same doctor again. I refuse to be a guinea pig for her.
