Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Conjunctivitis- how screwed am I

34 replies

Floopyandtired · 16/05/2019 22:57

I’ve got mild bacterial conjunctivitis. My eye is red pussy and swollen. Pharmacist has given me Chloramphenicol drops. My question is I have a big do on Saturday night... how much can I realistically expect it to have cleared? What timing 🙄

OP posts:
TheInebriati · 16/05/2019 23:02

48 hours...can you rock an eye patch?

PamelaDooveOrangeJoof · 16/05/2019 23:02

I think you should be ok by then? If you wipe it regularly with cotton pads soaked in cooled (but still warm) boiled water this really really helps speed things up. Use separate pads for each eye so as not to spread it . Feels really soothing

Gth1234 · 16/05/2019 23:03

put up with it, wear dark glasses, plenty of sleep. hopefully it will clear up. I get bouts of Iritis, so I know the feeling.

Original poster
Floopyandtired · 16/05/2019 23:05

A patch 😂 could do I suppose... luckily I wear glasses which hides it a bit. Good tip RE cooled boiled water.

OP posts:
LittleAndOften · 16/05/2019 23:05

@PamelaDooveOrangeJoof you took the words right out of my mouth. This is DH's patented method for conjunctivitis too (he's a paramedic) with the addition of a tiny drop of baby shampoo.

Original poster
Floopyandtired · 16/05/2019 23:09

@littleandoften thank you!

OP posts:
CSIblonde · 16/05/2019 23:15

Back in the day when I had it all the time as a child & drops weren't really hacking it, my GP prescribed bathing the eye in tiny amount of dettol in water that's been boiled then cooled a little (so still hottish) . Do hourly. Worked for me.

Original poster
Floopyandtired · 16/05/2019 23:18

dettol as in... Dettol??

OP posts:
Tcga745 · 16/05/2019 23:19

1 teaspoon of bicarb in 1/4 pint of cooled boiled water; wash your eye with this (on cotton wool or tissue) regularly. Keep water in a lidded tub.
Works every time and quickly; haven’t had conjunctivitis for15 years, do this the minute I feel if coming in and all is good.

TheFrenchLieutenantsMonkey · 16/05/2019 23:23

When you bathe your eye use clean cotton wool each time you swipe and go from the inside (near your nose) to the outside each time.
Speaking from experience of DD2s ften manky eyes and having an optometrist for a sister Grin

altiara · 16/05/2019 23:24

Get antibiotics from the doctor. Found they worked best, my DM did drops from pharmacist and cream but it got worse! Just in time for DDs 1st birthday when we invited everyone over to celebrate our engagement and her birthday.

lancaster · 16/05/2019 23:28

Doctor would not give anything different.

Blueeyesdarkhair · 16/05/2019 23:31

Bloody hell csi I can’t imagine dettoling would do it any good!!

Redcrayons · 16/05/2019 23:38

I'd think you'd be over the worse by then. Keep at it with the drops and wiping the gunk away.

Rinsing with hotnDettol in your eye? That seems particularly wtf

LittleAndOften · 16/05/2019 23:40

PLEASE DO NOT PUT DETTOL IN YOUR EYE!

Also the water does not need to be hot. Just boiled and cooled.

TheSandgroper · 17/05/2019 01:16

I was prescribed chamomile tea or saline. I had teabags so used that. It worked a treat. Mankiness cleared up in about two hours on dd. I still used it for a couple of days after but, really, it was so quick, I was amazed.

elliejjtiny · 17/05/2019 01:26

Ds2's eye was loads better within 12 hours of starting the drops. His eye lashes were glued together, he had suspected cellulitis and he wouldn't let me clean his eye. You should be fine by Saturday.

IronManisnotDead · 17/05/2019 01:46

Keep cleansing your eye, but be mindful it is highly contagious. If the infection has gone try wearing some cool sun shades, they will not look out of place in this weather anyway, or you could pull a Nick Fury and rock an eyepatch!

managedmis · 17/05/2019 01:55

People are freaking at dettol, but baby shampoo was mentioned too?!

SneakyGremlins · 17/05/2019 01:59

I've never seen a bottle of Dettol that says "no more tears" on it Grin

BusterGonad · 17/05/2019 02:28

Baby shampoo is well known for sorting out eye issues, such as Blepharitis but dettol not so much!

BusterGonad · 17/05/2019 02:33

I'm actually surprised that a wise soul hasn't mentioned Sudocreme, I mean according to Mumsnet that can fix anything! 😂

agnurse · 17/05/2019 04:21

Maybe check with your pharmacist to see if there is something they would recommend.

Bacterial conjunctivitis is extremely contagious. You need to wash your hands with soap and water frequently. Do not use antibacterial soap. This is harsher on your skin and can actually damage it, leading to your hands carrying more bacteria. Plain soap and water is fine.

ShanghaiDiva · 17/05/2019 05:41

dd had this recently and it took three days to clear completely, but by day 2 you could not tell there was anything wrong with her eyes.
We did not use Dettol!

dottycat123 · 17/05/2019 06:00

The reason most alternatives to chloremphenicol eye drops work is that most conjunctivitis is viral not bacterial. Unless the eye has been stabbed and a specimen sent off to identify the cause it is not possible to know for certain.