Pre-Surgical Management of Trichiasis Sample Clauses

Pre-Surgical Management of Trichiasis. Patients described living with trichiasis as a constant, often futile, search for a cure. The mother of one operated woman, who had been afflicted with trichiasis from a young age, stated “Everywhere where I heard there was someone with medication, I would go. Like that, I did everything. But nothing [helped]” (Friend of Operated Woman, 20, Tessaoua). Nearly all operated women spoke about ways in which they managed their trichiasis prior to surgery, and most non-operated cases spoke about their current practices or their knowledge of what other patients do. These practices included visiting traditional healers, applying traditional topical medications, cutting off the eyelashes with scissors, and epilation, which was cited most frequently. The few unoperated patients who did not have coping strategies had mild trichiasis, and one had received a diagnosis of trichiasis during the clinical examination prior to the interview. Several other unoperated women practiced epilation regularly, but only one had ever presented for surgery. A health worker had said her trichiasis was not yet “ripe.” At that that time, she reported that her trichiasis did not bother her yet; however, her condition had since progressed and now required her to epilate for pain relief. The relief patients obtained through these strategies was described as cyclical: most patients would experience the pain and other symptoms of trichiasis, epilate, and then the cycle would generally repeat every couple of days (“Today I am epilated, tomorrow I am epilated” (Operated Woman, 38, Zinder Commune)). In general, operated patients viewed epilation as a way to provide immediate pain relief, while surgery was a long-term cure: And then they were searching for an instrument to epilate me, and they heard there was this operation, and I said ‘I’m going to go do it’. . . This surgery is better … yes it’s superior to the other [epilation], but since they operated me, there have been no others [trichiatic lashes] (Operated Woman, 70, Zinder Commune). Several operated and non-operated women and their confidantes spoke about the need to find someone who knows how to epilate correctly, referring to a belief that trichiatic lashes are different from one’s “real” eyelashes that should not be pulled out, and that someone lacking appropriate knowledge may epilate the “real” lashes. This belief is attributable in part to the fact that trichiatic lashes may be different in texture from non-trichiatic lashes. Once a...