To ask what could be wrong with my eyes?

[HeyGirlHeyBoy]

I have an optician's appointment but not for 6 weeks, 10 day wait for GP in meantime. Wondering if anyone else experienced similar. First off, I have blepharitis and eyes are generally sensitive and can be irritated easily enough, spf, not taking off eye makeup properly etc.
Over the last four weeks however I habe had an almost constant red shadow around my iris, particularly on one eye and both eyes are very red and irritated, streaming stinging tears at random times. I thought sanitiser was bothering them, getting close to eyes at mask changes and I also thought tiredness and screen time but without these things, the same symptoms are there. Any ideas would be great. It's not dreadfully painful but does worsen as the day goes on. I don't wear glasses or contact lenses and sight has always been fairly good. TIA.

You need an urgent appointment.

There’s obviously some irritation and swelling where it’s not good- ring 111. See if you have a more urgent service for eyes, we have an A&E for eyes here. The longer it’s left the more scope for damage, I wouldn’t worry about the rest but the fact it’s round the iris now needs looking at

Also, stop the masks until checked. It may be drying them or you may be transferring bacteria, you don’t need further irritation

I’d ring 111. They will be able tell you how to access urgent eye care in your area.

I can't stop masks, I'm in Ireland. Yes i have an eye casualty but it's 9-5 and I'm on my own with 2 children for the weekend so can't go, children not allowed and I'd have no one to take them for the likely 3-4h I'd be gone. It has been around the iris on and off since it started. I have had similar before from tiredness but nothing so continuous.I had no masks last week as half term and it continued.
Why do you say I need an urgent appointment Florencia? What do you think it is? I will say it hasn't worsened.

We don't have a 111, is that like an out of hours gp? We do have that.

Could be one of a lot of things, have you stopped using eye make-up? If not, stop for at least a week and chuck everything away. It can harbour microbes.
What type of blepharitis do you have the crusty eyelash one or the blocked glands? What regime are you doing to treat the blepharitis - are you using eye drops at the moment?
Do both of your pupils look the same size and have you noticed any more floaters?
Can you post a picture.

No floaters at all. Left eye worse than right. Blepharitis, no drops at mo as apparently was on them too long. Should be doing a hot compress daily but tbh haven't been so result is reddish lower lids but no pain etc. Yes have stopped eye make up completely. Will continue that. Will try a pic.

How about your pupils - are they the same size as each other and not abnormally small or irregularly shaped?
Do you have any underlying health conditions.

I can't seem to pick it up in a phone pic. Better in morning, better after a compress, hot or cold.

Pupils fine. No underlying health conditions, that I know of.

I have an eye condition that was misdiagnosed as blepharitis for years caused by a build up of malasezia furfur which is a yeast we all have on our eyelashes, in my case it over grows and causes redness, swelling, irritation, gunge and feeling like I have stones in my eyes. I saw numerous ophthalmologists who kept giving me eye drops that did nothing. In the end I was seen my a dermatologist who told me to use an over the counter anti fungal cream, the same as you'd use for thrush, I rub a tiny amount on my eyelashes and within minutes I have relief. Maybe worth thinking about this as a possibility OP?

It sounds like conjunctivitis. Have you googled symptoms and pictures of that? The irritation and rubbing of eyes can cause redness (broken blood vessels) around the iris. It won't hurt to treat it as that until you can be seen. Use boiled cooled water (sterile) to wipe eyes, try a salt water eye bath.

I would suggest seeing a pharmacist. They can check it and give advice.

Wow. That's definitely interesting. My original diagnosis was by a really top ophthalmologist that was local to us at the time, so I'd be surprised if he got it wrong. I saw him again ten years later. However a gp told me to stop those drops a few years ago as they weren't for such long term use. I was getting a lot of styes at the time so he put me on a low level antibiotic for a few months, a derm one actually iirc plus a short term drop. No problem since, until now, two years later. But the blepharitis would never have effected the whites of my eyes.

Last question - any frontal headaches, nausea or are you noticing any halos around lights?

@MonicaGellerBing - blepharitis just means inflammation of the eyelid margin and it can have lots of causes including fungal (although it's pretty rare). It can also be caused by a demodex mite.

Thank you SmileyClare, yes I have meant to go to a pharmacist, i know it sounds ridiculous that these weeks have passed without me doing anything. The streaming eyes maybe once or twice a day are so strange. I have had conjunctivitis before and it's been itchier. But yes I will get to a pharmacist this evening.

No to all of that underneaththeash although a sudden look into lights might give the halos. I suffer from migraine so would be quick to notice floaters etc. I probably spend too long on phone daily also, tho not on a computer in work say.

@SmileyClare

It sounds like conjunctivitis. Have you googled symptoms and pictures of that? The irritation and rubbing of eyes can cause redness (broken blood vessels) around the iris. It won't hurt to treat it as that until you can be seen. Use boiled cooled water (sterile) to wipe eyes, try a salt water eye bath.

I would suggest seeing a pharmacist. They can check it and give advice.

No conjunctivitis doesn't cause circumcorneal redness and it can hurt to treat for something the OP doesn't have. All medications have potential side effects and you also don't want to be putting something in an already irritated eye that you don't need.

OP - it would really help to post a photo. It's probably just dryness, but you need to have it looked at next week. I'd call the opticians back and say that you have "circumcorneal redness" and they will fit you in next week.

I was thinking of this sort of redness (see photo) associated with conjunctivitis. I'm not an expert though, it sounds as though you have more knowledgeable posters on here.

I think visiting a pharmacist is a good plan if you can. They can at least give their opinion after looking at it.

Thank you so much What would you think of a plain old otc drop to perhaps give some relief? I did describe the symptoms as in OP to receptionist in optician's. Am I mixing up cornea and iris (the coloured circle)?

Yes that's the type of gritty conjunctivitis I've had previously. No, this is nothing like as bad, it's like a red shadow around the green part of my eye. A colleague has told me it looks very red and sore so it is noticeable. I will try again with a pic.

I have had bouts of iritis and uveitis for years, it could be this.

Please make an appointment, plain old Specsavers were brilliant with me years ago, saw me, wrote a letter to give my dr, was seen at the eye hospital the next day.

Don't mess around with OTC stuff, be checked first.

That's interesting re specsavers as I went to them before my second time to ophthalmologist and they didn't know what blepharitis was and gave me a glasses prescription which 10 years later I've never filled as I followed up with ophthalmologist who told me sight was fine, that it was the bleph. causing the eye pain. Here's a pic. Doesn't really show it.

So was slow to return to SS..

I would say whites of eye not particularly white and there is some bloodshot signs.