Travel Missteps: Ojo Rosa (Pink Eye)

I was already pretty miserable at this point in my Costa Rica/Panama trip. A few days before I had popped my eardrums badly, and was having hard with balance and hearing. The day after that I caught a nasty cold from keeping my room’s AC down too low. So between the popping of my ears, the runny nose, and the drainage in my throat causing me to cough a lot, I didn’t notice that my eyes are giving up on me too.

To be fair, I wasn’t using them all that much that day. The 5+ hour travel day from Bocas Town to Boquete started with a boat ride back to the mainland, and then a lazy day in the van with the others. As I was sick I mostly just napped as we headed inland. Plus, I’ve always had dry eyes and eyes that hates contacts. It wasn’t unusual to rub my eyes to scratch an itch, or even remove some slight mucus caused by contact irritation. But I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t notice when it became a lot of mucus…or when it turned from the normal white color to a yellow/green color. I remember stopping at a mini canyon called Los Cangilones de Gualaca. I was fading fast, so while I watched others jump into the water, I just sat on a rock, trying to admire how this area had been shaped over time.

As I sat there doing nothing, I started to realize that I was rubbing away a lot of mucus. Still, I had bigger concerns like trying to find something for my cough. So later when we arrived I asked Ernyk to help me with my cough/cold. We went to a pharmacy where he spoke to the woman behind the counter, and she came out bringing whatever was needed. In my case just cough drops (although I’d be back a few times throughout the trip to get better cold medicine.) I was so happy to get the cough drops and

I was so happy to get the cough drops and then rest that I didn’t even ask about my eyes. But when I got back to the room and looked in a mirror, I realized this wasn’t good. I decided to rest a bit before figuring out next steps. That was until the mucus sealed my closed eyes shut. When I got them open, it was still hard to see with a sheen of mucus over each eye, making it look like I was seeing through a dirty window. After getting the wifi to work, I looked up symptoms of pink eye. Yep, I had it, and had it bad. I was a bit startled at webmd’s “if you let it persist you could be permanently blinded or worse.” I looked up what pink eye was in Spanish “Ojo Rosa” and high tailed it back to the pharmacy.

I started with “Do you speak English” and got blank looks. A ban behind me said “No Spanish?” And I said no. A man behind me I thought tried to help me. In my hazy state, he told me to repeat him, and I did. As I said the words he suggested, some laughed, while some women looked away horrified. I realized he wasn’t helping me but instead suggesting I say something very inappropriate. I decided to refocus my limited sick attention span at the female pharmacist. “Ojo Rosa” pointing to my bloodshot eyes. She kind of nodded like “Yeah no shit.” I waited expectedly. She just shrugged after she said something I couldn’t understand. I said it again. “Ojo Rosa” a little louder. Vulgar-Phrase-Man and some others behind me overheard and took a step back from me. I was starting to panic. I knew I could wait for Ernyk, but I didn’t want to. I then pantomimed eye drops in my eye. The woman nodded and disappeared. She then handed me the box for me to inspect. It had an eye on it, so I figured that was close enough. I’d make sure to google translate the box when I got back. I paid and scurried back to my room.

After googling the box, I started on the regimen I could glean from it. Clean my hands, put the eye drops in, clean my hands again. Keep eyes closed for 3-4 minutes, and repeat every 20 minutes or so. When I stopped at night or during naps, my eyelashes would seal shut, and I’d have to bumble around the room in a panic to try to wash it off and start over.

Later that night Ernyk made me and another sick traveler his mom’s tea. It was unique with spicy ginger and lime in it, but it was very helpful and needed. At some point, Ernyk also got me chamomile eye drops as he thought it was less pink eye and more just an allergic reaction that was irritating my eyes. So I’d do 20 minutes of pink eye meds, then do the other drops. The entire time this was going on (a 3 day period) I couldn’t wear contacts, and had to deep clean my eye mask and travel pillow. As I was also sick Ernyk also made sure I had a vicks type rub to help my cold. I seriously would have had to cancel the rest of my trip if I hadn’t been on that G Adventure’s tour and had an amazing guide!

The second day I had planned a horse back riding trip, and then a trip to a coffee farm. That morning I woke up feeling like shit. I was forced to wear my glasses (which meant I couldn’t wear my sunglasses) and still felt like shit. I waffled back and forth on if I should go horseback riding or not. I knew either way I’d have to pay for it, but $40 to sleep in seemed worth it. But I worried because it was just me and one other person, and worried that if I didn’t go they’d cancel her ride as well. I ended up somehow getting myself out the door and going, reminding myself that horseback riding was one thing I really wanted to do on this trip…and that there wasn’t much else for me to do in Boquete as a sick person.

The ride ended up being really fun, even if I was sunblind and sometimes riding with only one eye mucus free. I’m glad I did it because the coffee farm trip was canceled later, so if I hadn’t gone I would have been stuck in my hotel room all day. Thankfully, just as quick as the eye stuff came, it went away (making me think it wasn’t actually pink eye as that tends to stick around for a while) and so I was able to wear contacts and snorkel a couple of days later. But Panama will forever be remembered as the trip when my eyes, ears, nose, and throat gave up on me (as well as an ankle injury while clubbing…) Dangerously fun (at least if you are me!)