DS eye has swollen!

[frostedviolets]

He's 10, asthmatic and not been too well recently (had a bit of a cold, off food)

He's just come downstairs after falling aswell in his bed and one of his eyes is swollen underneath.
He seems fine in himself.

Any thoughts on what could have caused this?
Obviously GP will be in order if it doesn't go down.

Im about to give him some antihistamine.

We have a cat, who sleeps mostly on his pillow.

Allergies run in the family, me, DH, DM, BIL all have hay fever and DB has severe cat, possibly dog too allergy.

I'm a little concerned he may be becoming allergic to the cat..?
Or is that silly?
We've had the cat maybe 4 years?
Do people suddenly develop allergies after 4 years?
It's just the fact that the cat sleeps on the pillow and it's his eye that's swollen up after sleep, I'm just wondering..?

Maybe - I became severely allergic to my 3 12 year old cats at the grand old age of 38! See if anti-histamine has a rapid effect...

Do you have any eye drops? Or saline solution to rinse his eye? Or a first aid kit - there is usually an eye irrigation kit in them. If not I'd be seeking a pharmacy to get some.

I'd have a look in his eye to ensure it's not a foreign body (eyelash / fluff / cat hair)

I'd also give the antihistamines.

Our local A&E has an eye unit attached to it. I'd potentially be seeking some medical advice.

Does your ds say if it's sore or itchy?

I can't comment on the allergy side.

Just given the antihistamine.
Wait and see now I suppose

DS says eye not itchy or sore.
He had no idea before me and DH noticed it was swollen

Yes new allergies can develop at any time so it could well be the cat hair. Is it any better after the antihistamine?

My dd developed periorbital cellulitis following a long lasting cold and a cough.

Maybe have a Google of that in case it gets worse you know what to look for. Can be nasty so need to seek treatment if it was that.

Blocked tear duct? Someone I know gets those often as an adult and it’s the bottom of the eye that swells up. Maybe also worth a quick Google.

Going to google blocked tear ducts..

Any improvement? The antihistamines should be kicking in now but if it’s still swollen I think he needs to be seen by a doctor.

Is the cat indoor or outdoor? Mine gives me flare ups in the summer when he comes in from the woods next to us.. Something polleny sticks to him and he rubs it on me.

I’d say blocked tear duct. Could also be an infection

I'm not sure it is a blocked duct, google says his eye would be wet, irritated etc and it's not.
Literally just swollen underneath, that's it.
The antihistamine has reduced the swelling but not completely, though it obviously hasn't had all that long to work yet.
Picture of the swollen eye and the other eye for comparison.

Cat goes outside but spends most of the day on DS quilt or pillow.
She's asleep under his duvet right now infact and has been for hours.

My ds had a temp of 40 and a cold on Friday and was off his food. Called 111 when his eyes swelled up who send an ambulance!! While waiting to see the doc (3 hours) the swelling had almost gone so when we saw a doctor they said it was probably an allergic reaction to the virus he had! He was fine the next day.

Second what Blackopal said.

My dd had orbital cellulitis after a bout of flu. The abscess and pus in her eye socket was so widespread, it had started to move the position of the eyeball. She had emergency surgery to save her eye and life, she was hours away from sepsis. Was in hospital 1 week having iv antibiotics too.

She had a high temperature and pain before the redness appeared.

It could be the cat, but my allergy to my aunts tortie made my eye very very itchy and red

Yes, this is one of the reasons I think maybe it's not the cat because it's not red/irritated.

But then his asthma was diagnosed after severe coughing, almost exclusively at night in bed, where the cat has been most of the day.

I think of my brother (who is severely cat allergic) and all the allergies in the family and the placement, the swollen eye is the side he was sleeping on, and I worry that maybe the asthma isn't really asthma at all but a mild allergy?

I also thought cellulitis is a possibility. Keep an eye (pun intended!) on things.

holy sorry to hear about your daughter.
My DD was in hospital and IV antibiotics but avoided surgery etc. That must have been scary, hope all is well now.

OP, if the swelling continues please do bear in mind cellulitis. Can turn very serious in a short time.

My sis became allergic to cats as a teenager and we’d had cats since she was 3. We both developed hayfever late 30s

Agree it doesn’t look like a typical blocked tear duct. Interesting thought about the asthma. Can you get them tested for allergies? As others have said, they can develop later on in life - mid 30s and I have a brand new shellfish allergy. 😬 Hope you get it sorted soon and it’s nothing serious.

I’m not allergic to our dog it have occasionally got a dog hair in my eye and it swells right up.

You need to get the car out of his bed. Or at least cover his sleeping part

Cat not car! That would be weird!

Can you get them tested for allergies?
I think you may be able to privately, NHS I'm not so sure, I'm going to get DS a GP appointment as soon as I can and ask them about testing him.

Hope you get it sorted soon
I’m not allergic to our dog it have occasionally got a dog hair in my eye and it swells right up
The antihistamine syrup took pretty much all the swelling away.
And yes, I am wondering if it was perhaps something as simple and innocent as a hair getting stuck and irritating his eye.

You need to get the cat out of his bed. Or at least cover his sleeping part

For the moment at least this is extremely difficult, if not impossible as the bedrooms are missing their doors! 🤦🏻‍♀️
(Home improvement upstairs starting soon)

Glad he’s better!

He is asthmatic but not been allergy tested? Did I misunderstand this? My DS has asthma which presents as nighttime coughing. He was allergy tested at 4yo and they will test him again at 6yo. The doctor said that if he is still negative for allergies at 6yo it’s probably viral induced asthma which should go away by the time he is 7 or 8yo. But we are in the U.K. so maybe the protocol is different.