Like most Aussies, Laura spent hours in the sun growing up. Then at 26 she woke up with an excruciating and unexpected condition – and it’s caused by a mistake we’ve all made before

Laura Clare was only 26 when she noticed a mild discolouration and a ‘strange’ feeling in her eyes.

She could never have predicted that the symptoms were a sign of an excruciating – yet preventable – disease that thousands of Aussies are at risk of.  

Laura had pterygium, a painful, non-cancerous growth caused by too much sunlight exposure without wearing sunglasses or adequate sun protection.

Essentially it is a ‘fleshy overgrowth of the conjunctiva’ – the thin clear membrane on the surface of the eye. 

Now in her mid-30s, the Aussie content creator told FEMAIL her first symptom occurred when she was sitting down working on her computer.

‘My eyes felt so inflamed and I couldn’t work out what it was,’ she recalled. ‘They looked a bit yellow and seemed to get worse over the next few days.’

Laura originally thought she had a speck of dust stuck in her eye that she couldn’t remove. 

‘I’d never experienced anything like it before, so I wanted to get it checked immediately. The flare up had gone down by the time I went to the doctor but I wanted to know what happened,’ she said.

Like many Australians, Laura admits she ‘wasn’t great’ with sun protection while growing up and rarely wore sunglasses or hats while sunbaking – which she enjoyed regularly.

Laura originally thought she had a speck of dust stuck in her eye – she never expected to be diagnosed with a rare disease called pterygium. The growths can be seen here on the inner side of each eyeball

‘I guess it was my young brain not making the best decisions for myself or my body – I was more invested in getting a tan,’ she said.

In addition to sunlight, excess exposure to dusty or sandy conditions can also contribute to someone’s risk of the disease.

Over 270,000 Australians are impacted by pterygium – especially those who spend a lot of time surfing or working outdoors.

It is has been colloquially dubbed ‘surfer’s eye’ and can occur regardless of eye colour.

By her late-20s, Laura had to wear glasses full-time because the growths made it too hard to wear contact lenses.

‘It was awful because I don’t like wearing glasses at all,’ she said.

‘I don’t like how they feel on my face – it’s so uncomfortable – but I can’t see without corrective lenses.’

For almost a decade, Laura managed her symptoms the best she could.

She went to the doctor often but was dismissed. She was usually told it ‘wasn’t a big deal’ and that she’d be a candidate for surgery ‘once it got worse’.

‘I’d kind of just accepted that I had to live with the condition,’ she said.

Laura managed her symptoms the best she could for ten years before she needed surgery

Laura leaned on her friends and family during her recovery

‘I used eye drops sometimes but if I was experiencing a flare I’d go to bed early and it would be better in the morning. Other times nothing worked – not even drops or sleep.’ 

Her condition also flared up if she walked her dog, went outside on a windy day, went in the sun without sunglasses or spent too much time in front of a computer.

Surgery is the only treatment that can remove a pterygium, and doctors recommend getting it removed before it grows across the cornea and impacts  vision.

If left untreated, pterygia may scar the cornea and cause permanent vision problems. 

‘I made the decision to pay for surgery out of pocket because my eyes declined quite quickly,’ she said.

‘My doctor said I couldn’t go on the public health system until the pterygium reached my pupil – but the wait list was over a year anyway.’

The surgery to remove the growths in both eyes cost her $7,000 and aftercare included three months of post-op steroid drops and following a care protocol.

The young woman revealed that she was terrified of getting the surgery at first but it was the only way to get rid of the growths for good

‘It was so scary because your eyes are your buffer through life. To think that someone is going to come at them with a scalpel is uncomfortable,’ she said 

Laura admitted she was terrified by the idea of surgery but it was the only way to treat the growth permanently. 

‘It was so scary because your eyes are your buffer through life. To think that someone is going to come at them with a scalpel is uncomfortable,’ she said.

‘However, the pain I felt was so much more than the surgeries I’ve been through. It was like constantly having sand stuck in my eyes. It burned – it’s the same as when you accidentally get sunscreen in them.’

The procedure went well and she was lucky enough to have a solid support system around her as she went through the recovery process. 

‘My loved ones looked after me, helped me re-dress my eyes, and put my eye drops in,’ she said.

‘I couldn’t drive for a while after either.’ 

Laura’s biggest takeaway – and one she wants to stress to Australians of all ages – is to take sun protection seriously.

‘We’re taught a lot about sun damage to our skin but not our eyes,’ Laura said. ‘It is so important for people to consider their eyes.

‘Everyone should wear proper sunglasses with UV protection under Australian standards.’

And, even though it is a treatable condition, it can be dangerous and can lead to a lengthy recovery after surgery. 

‘I’m about six weeks post-operation now and one of my eyes has started to go back to normal,’ she said.

‘It was very red for a long time and I had dissolvable stitches in – but I’m finally feeling like me again.

‘If you feel something wrong with your eyes, go to a doctor immediately and advocate for yourself – the earlier you treat it, the better.’