Need medical advice - eye issue in child

[Ozgirl75]

My family are over in the U.K. on holiday. On Thursday last week my 9 year old woke with a fever. Fairly mild. This continued for 5 days - only around 38 - 38.5, he was well in himself.
On Monday he started complaining of eye pain in one eye. It’s very slightly red, watering a bit but the main symptom is pain. It goes off for a bit with neurofen and cal pol but then comes back.
This has now been 4 days.
We don’t have a Dr here. My parents spoke to their surgery, no appointments. We went to the pharmacy yesterday and she said basically, it’ll probably go away, see a dr if it doesn’t get better.
But how do we see a Dr?
What do people do if they can’t see their Dr? It isn’t hospital level bad but my parents Dr basically suggested the eye dept of the hospital which seems madness.
i think it’s viral conjunctivitis but I literally want one medical professional to confirm this - if doesn’t seem right to just leave him in this much pain for days on end without seeing a Dr.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we should do?

Are you near a city with an eye hospital? They do have emergency departments, and I suspect they’d be happy to see a child even if it doesn’t appear terribly serious on the surface. There is a nasty infection you can get around the eye that can get into the bone of the eye socket, so it’s as well to get it checked out by someone.

An optician would be another good place to try - a high street chain might be able to fit you in today.

Some things you could try (if you haven't already):

1. phone 111 for advice. They can make a GP appointment for you or signpost you to another service if needed.
2. google search for NHS walk-in clinics in your area
3. book a video appointment with a private GP

good luck!

High street opticians is a great idea

If you’re in the UK, you can phone 111.

I went into an opticians yesterday and they basically shrugged and said try the pharmacist who in turn shrugged and said try the dr.
Im not near a city but I could probably get to a hospital. I’m in the countryside between Guildford and Sussex.
How do I find a private GP? Im more than happy to pay.
I’ve tried ringing 111 but it just says it’s an incomplete number, I assume because I’m calling from an overseas phone?
Ill try a walk in clinic too, I hadn’t heard of them before.
Thank you - it’s so awful having a sick child on holiday and seemingly no way of accessing medical care.

Am not a professional but my best bet would have been your parents GP, it says on the NHS website that if you're visiting the UK you could register with a GP temporarily within 3 months.

If your parent's surgery has got no appointments then perhaps you could take him to A&E. Could be a long wait but at least he'll get to be seen by someone. All the best

I’ve tried ringing 111 but it just says it’s an incomplete number, I assume because I’m calling from an overseas phone?

Can’t you use a landline or local mobile? Who are you staying with? They could lend you a phone.

www.surreyheartlandsccg.nhs.uk/your-health/local-nhs/nhs-111-walk-in-and-out-of-hours

Options for your area on this page. Try a UK phone for 111 or there is a link to the online version.

Don’t just go to a and e. It will be a nightmare for you. Departments are under massive pressure again because of the heat and covid cases.

www.livi.co.uk

Livi tends to get recommended on here for private GP appointments. I can't vouch for them, but I think they're fairly inexpensive so might be worth a try if all else fails.

Try another opticians, we keep two slots a day free for urgent cases. I wouldn't turn you away.

I use Doctor Care Anywhere, it's through my insurance but you can just pay for a one off service.

A GP will be useless with eye issues. You need an optician - one that can actually see you at an appointment, don’t just walk in, ring first and explain and ask to see someone as an emergency. Or failing that you need an A and E with an eye department. Eye pain is an emergency that needs checking out.

I have eye issues (retinal / high myopia/ astigmatism) and recently had a haemorrhage in my eye and 111 tried to send me to an out of hours doctor which was absolutely pointless as they can’t see inside your eye like an optician can - I know this from experience. I ended up ringing round and got an emergency appointment at specsavers who were able to examine my eye properly with the right equipment and reassured me.

We don’t have a landline, we’re in a little rural cottage - lovely normally!

Were going to try a neighbour for the phone and ring 111.
Thanks

Honestly, as someone who has had to go through this a number of times, they’ll recommend either the eye hospital or an optician. Once you eventually get to speak to someone, which could take hours. Ring all the local Specsavers and Vision Express branches first.

Yep absolutely this.

111 are useless for eye related problems.

Thanks so much for your help - we rang specsavers and they were so lovely and helpful and we’re seeing the optometrist this morning.

Yay! Hope they’re helpful and it gets sorted. 💐

my parents Dr basically suggested the eye dept of the hospital

Thats what I would do. The symptoms could be iritis/uveitis which is inflammation of the eye, primary symptom is pain. And it causes irreversible sight loss if not treated quickly. A&E won’t mind because they will triage him direct to their eye clinic. He won’t be gumming up NHS resources.

I’ve had this many times as a complication of lupus and specsavers or any decent optician can diagnose this and prescribe the relevant drops / medications if necessary.

Thank you so much for your advice this morning. We went to Guildford Specsavers and the most lovely optician helped us. Anyway it’s orbital cellulitis and is pretty serious but we have caught it early enough and are off to the hospital this afternoon for antibiotics.
I can’t thank you enough for suggesting an optician, potentially saving his life and eyesight.

We had to go to the hospital eye clinic for diagnosis and treatment. The optician did an emergency referral for us on the spot.

That’s what she did for us too - emergency referral for today. I couldn’t be more impressed with Specsavers. She was thorough, kind, just lovely.

I’m so glad that it has helped. Hope the little one is doing much better very soon.

So glad you’ve been seen and are getting treatment. Hope your child’s eye is better soon.