Extending roughly from the iris to the corner of each eye, and just at the level of the lower eyelid, I have a raised yellow-white strip, almost like an elongated, protruding muscle. What could this be? I am a writer and I do lots of close work each day.

D.

You seem to be describing a condition that eye doctors call a pingueculum. Pinguecula are growths in the white portion of the eye that are caused by exposure to the sun's ultraviolet light. There is no known connection between this gradual build-up of tissue and detail work such as reading or writing.

Although I obviously cannot see the extent of your pingueculum, I can tell you that most of the thousands that I have seen in my practice are harmless and relatively inconspicuous. In fact, often these growths are noticeable only to the patients themselves. That said, it is important to have an eye doctor examine any elevated, suspicious area of the eye because, in rare cases, it may be the start of a conjunctival tumor. So, even though your "strips" are probably nothing to worry about, I urge you to discuss your situation with your eye doctor.