May 29, 2025

Knock Knock Eye: What Happens When a Virus Decides to Eat Your Retina

44 minutes

I worked a Saturday clinic. I know, shocking. Even more shocking: I saw something I’ve never actually encountered in real life until now—acute retinal necrosis. So in this episode, I walk you through what that looked like, how I figured it out, why it scared the hell out of me, and what happened next. Along the way, I also spiral into the difference between horses, zebras, and unicorns (yes, medically), why having shingles might come back to haunt your eyeballs, and what it’s like to be the doctor frantically reviewing textbooks between patients. Also: I’m writing a convocation speech during a morale crisis in oncology, so if you’ve got extra testicle jokes, send them my way.

Takeaways:

Yes, I Worked a Saturday Clinic. No, I Don’t Want to Talk About It.

Except I do. Because a unicorn—or at least a zebra—walked through the door, and things got real fast.

Vision Loss with No Pain? That’s a Trap.

When someone says they’re going blind but they’re totally comfortable, I get nervous. This case reminded me why.

Your Immune System Can Turn on You. Literally.

Trauma to one eye can cause your immune system to attack the other one. Still haven’t seen it. Hope I never do.

Retinal Necrosis Is a Fancy Way of Saying “This Is Bad.”

The diagnosis sounds terrifying because it is. And it often starts with something as boring as a shingles rash.

Sometimes I Leave the Room to Google Stuff. That’s Normal.

And if you’re a doctor pretending you don’t, I have questions. The key is knowing when to pause, read, and come back smarter.

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A friendly reminder from the G’s and Tarsus: If you want to learn more about Demodex Blepharitis, making an appointment with your eye doctor for an eyelid exam can help you know for sure. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.EyelidCheck.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information.

Today’s episode is brought to you by DAX Copilot from Microsoft. DAX Copilot is your AI assistant for automating clinical documentation and workflows helping you be more efficient and reduce the administrative burdens that cause us to feel overwhelmed and burnt out.

To learn more about how DAX Copilot can help improve healthcare experiences for both you and your patients visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aka.ms/knockknockhi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

To learn more about Pearson Ravitz go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.pearsonravitz.com/knockknock⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Human Content

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