Baseball Player Brian McCann

[Bubdylan]

The catcher for the Atlanta Braves, Brian McCann, has been having eye trouble for a couple years now. He describes dryness and fuzziness in his right eye. He's had a Lasik or two, and he seems to be having a real hard time of it. He goes back and forth with these glasses, which fog up and annoy him during game play.

Anyway, he has a red face in some interviews. He's got pale skin, and his last name suggests some Irish/Scotch heritage. So, is that enough to make the connection to O.R.? Or are there just too many eye problems to put much stock in the suspicion?

I don't know what I could do beyond what I've already done, even if I was sure he had it. I emailed a reporter for the AJC that I thought might be the type to bring it up. But nothing came of it. I'm sure it sounded like one more long-distance diagnosis from a presumptuous fan. (Everybody's always got a solution, don't they?)

Any thoughts on this? Do you guys think that at the highest level, the eye doctors of millionaires would be likely to miss this? (Mel, aren't you an optomo... optometr... an eye person or something??). Is a red face and a "Mac" name and a dry eye enough to put most eye doctors on the scent of O.R.? Or is it hit and miss?

[Melissa W]

LOL Bubdylan, I certainly wouldn't attempt a diagnosis from afar but based on your description it could be OR. Lasik can bring out dry eye issues in those prone so that could have been the trigger. Or it could just be something else such as allergies, or perhaps he was up all night before the interview etc. It could be a number of things. However, yours is not a bad guess. I would hope that his doctors would make the proper diagnosis and treat him accordingly.



Melissa

[Bubdylan]

[Rips up HEY BRIAN, IT'S ROSACEA sign]

Dangit. Thought I had something. I guess this means I can scrap the letter to Hellboy, too.

[Melissa W]

He may very well have rosacea...just saying his doctor who can examine him up close and personal would be able to give a more definitive diagnosis

[Bubdylan]

Well, yeah, but in my paranoid little dream, Brian's doctor isn't paying attention, so I must rescue him. Don'tcha get it?? This is my ticket to fortune and fame, don't kill it.

Seriously, I am kind of curious about how readily optometrists (go-go gadget spellchecker!) look into the possibility. But, as you said, it could be any number of things turning him red/ drying his eye. From some stuff he's said, though, it does seem to have baffled his doctor. So I'm wondering if O.R. baffles doctors regularly or whatever. Do most of the O.R. diagnoses come from derms or from eye doctors?

Anyone?

[Melissa W]

Seriously, I am kind of curious about how readily optometrists (go-go gadget spellchecker!) look into the possibility. But, as you said, it could be any number of things turning him red/ drying his eye. From some stuff he's said, though, it does seem to have baffled his doctor. So I'm wondering if O.R. baffles doctors regularly or whatever. Do most of the O.R. diagnoses come from derms or from eye doctors?

If a patient comes in with signs and/or symptoms of ocular rosacea it is a relatively basic diagnosis. So to answer your question it depends who the person affected with rosacea sees first. Their dermatologist or their eye care professional. If their eye symptoms are bothersome they might be more likely to come to the eye care professional first however if they have facial burning/redness and/or p&p's they might see their dermatologist first. Again, a relatively straightforward diagnosis with symptoms and/or signs present. Sometimes if the ocular symptoms precede any obvious skin signs and those symptoms are vague it might be a more challenging diagnosis so that may delay diagnosis a bit. However if the symptoms/signs are present it should not be a difficult diagnosis.
Also remember not everyone with rosacea will develop ocular rosacea.

Usually the first symptoms of ocular rosacea are burning/stinging and/or foreign body sensation.So the symptoms may include any/all of the following- red, dry, itching, or burning eyes, sensitivity to light, feeling of grittiness in the eye, blurred vision or other vision problem, eyelids that may be inflamed and swollen.

Here is a photo (hope it shows up) of one of the most common clinical manifestations seen- blepharoconjuncivitis. The lid margin demonstrates crustiness and thickening of the meibomian gland orifices along with characteristic telangiectasis of the lid margin.




This is a photo of another common finding- diffuse redness of the conjunctival vessels



Red inflamed lids can be one of the signs we first see as well as dry eye (diagnosed different ways depending on the cause), telangiectasia of lid margins, chronic conjunctivitis, blepharitis, recurrent chalazia, meibomitis or meibomian gland disease and in more severe cases keratitis (corneal involvement) which can cause blurry vision.

The differential diagnosis of ocular rosacea includes staphylococcal and seborrheic blepharokeratoconjunctivitis and sebaceous gland carcinoma.

This article is an older one but illustrates how the first encounter might go.
http://www.optometric.com/article.aspx?article=5300

[Bubdylan]

Wow, thanks for taking the time to gather that up. Very enlightening! Looks I'm out of the diagnostic business for sure. Also feeling a bit less sure that my own eye dysfunction has been ocular rosacea. Hmmm. Life's too complicated. Here's hoping the afterlife is much simpler. Have a good one and thanks again!!

[Melissa W]

It's my pleasure.

What are your ocular symptoms?

[Bubdylan]

Redness. For a few years, my family thought I was smoking weed or something. Frequent styes in my right eye. Blurry vision in my right eye. It comes and goes. About six months ago it got so bad one night that I could see nothing at all but a blurry light out of my right eye. In desparation I took a wet finger and rubbed the surface of my eyeball and it seemed to move a film over to one side. I could see again instantly. I blinked a few times and all went blurry again. The blurriness took about a week to resolve. I formed a tiny cyst on my eyelid during this time. It went away and hasn't returned.

Between then and now, I also finally found an eye drop that soothes (most of them sting me). Just a generic brand of natural tears. It has removed the redness completely and my eye(s) hardly bother me at all these days. Seem clearer than ever and I'm actually back to reading without my glasses. Have no idea what to make of it. When the facial symptoms of mild rosacea turned up I naturally began to link my eye weirdness to ocular rosacea. That's about it. Thanks for the interest.

[Melissa W]

Sounds like Ocular Rosacea for sure Bubdylan. You have/had all the symptoms.
I am very glad you have found what works for you and that your symptoms are gone now.
That's the thing about OR. I think it is easier to get under control than the other types though some people can have severe OR the treatments are better.