A KZN matric learner who went viral on social media platform TikTok for crying yellow tears currently has a whopping 92.3 million views and eight million likes on her post.
Lekeisha Pillay, 18, from Ballito, who goes by the TikTok name "STARGIRL", said she was having a mental breakdown in her room when she noticed she was crying yellow tears.
She said after a long day at school and a doctor's appointment, she came back hungry, tired and a bit emotional.
"I usually record myself while I'm crying or venting, so I looked down at my phone and I saw that my tears were yellow. At the time I didn't know why I was crying yellow, but after a while I realised it was because I came from the eye doctor."
Lekeisha said she didn't expect her video to receive so much attention.
"I didn't expect it at all, I feel so many emotions at once; shocked, excited and overwhelmed."
Eye specialist Dr Nozipho Xulu said: "Fluorescein is the dye that we use. It goes off the tears that form part of the tear film, which is the first layer of the eye. When we put the dye, it stains the tear film.
"It's a diagnostic dye that we use because if someone has any defects on the tear film or cornea, then we will be able to see those defects," added Xulu.
The doctor said the dye is not harmful and does not cause any problems, which is why they use it for diagnostics.
