Eye infection - what are the causes?

[belgo]

I have a nasty eye infection, in just the one eye. My GP prescribed me eye drops (anti biotic I think) that he assured me are safe to take during pregnancy - I'm 24 weeks. Anyway the drops aren't helping at all, in fact dh commented that my eye looks worse. Very red, half closed, very painful and difficult to see out of due to constant watering.

I also have a cold and temperature.

I have just found a painful jump just at the very top of my jaw, beside my eye.

What are the causes of eye infections? The GP said bacterial as it was just the one eye, but if the drops don't help then I assume it's not bacterial?

I have a second appointment today with GP to get blood test results back.

Normal conjunctivitis (with the sticky yellow goo) is bacterial but may not be sensitive to the antibs prescribed (what are they?).
Either that or you may be reacting to the drops - I do that to chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin) and have to have fusidic acid (Fucidin) instead.

Good that you have a rpt appt today - talk it over and show her the lump (which is probably just a spot but best to be safe).

thanks Mrs Badger - yes it's chloramphenical - I really didn't want to take anything but I need to be able to see properly and the GP assured me it was safe! I feel like putting a patch over my eye, but I wear glasses so that's difficult.

So could be a reaction to the chloramphenical?

It's not yellow pus - it's white. I suspect it's viral, but it's strange that it's only the one eye.

I wonder if the lump is a lymph node? I do feel rotton.

My dd1 is calling me her lovely monster because I look so freaky!

If the lump's near your eye it's unlikely to be a lymph node - they hang out in your neck/ groin /armpits. If it's between your eye and your nose it could conceivably be a blocked tear duct, esp if eye is weepy rather than sticky, but the GP should spot this.

Bacterial conjunctivitis often starts in one eye then spreads to the other so I wouldn;t necc expect it to present in both.

Meanwhile, maybe hot lemon and honey for the cold and a tepid bath / fan for the temperature?

Good luck at the GP...

thanks MrsB

Hope your eye is feeling better.
Unless your GP is one who has a special interest in eyes it may be worth going to your optometrist for an eye examination over the weekend and getting them to look on a slit lamp biomicroscope which can give more detail to help with diagnosis and they will be able to send a report back to your GP.
Bacterial conjunctivitis is as Mrs B said is normally sticky goo and viral more likely to be watery.There are other causes of a red,watery eye such as iritis which can be misdiagnosed as conjunctivitis.

Thanks rainingcatsanddogs. My GP spent about 20 minutes looking up causes of eye infection on the internet!

Most likely cause according to him is bacterial, as he says it's too bad to be viral. It's conjunctivitis and kerititis (corneal infection I think). He said to stop using the chloramphenical as it's obviously not working, but he wants to hold off prescribing anything stronger due to my pregnancy.

He did prescibe volterol eye gel for the pain, but then the pharmacist told it's no longer made and can't be taken during pregnancy anyway.

My eye is almost closed this morning and streaming like a tap. It doesn't hurt too much.

I'm thinking about getting an eye doctor referral because I have ridiculously sensitive eyes at the best of times, and I've had a fair few infections over the past few years, despite never wearing making and hardly wearing contact lenses - and when I do, they are daily lenses so I would hope they wouldn't cause too much of a problem. And I regularly wash flannels/towels etc so I don't think that my infections are caused by poor hygiene.

I have cancelled all my social outings this weekend as I don't want to freak anyone out

'despite never wearing make up' that's supposed to say!

It's even worse today. My eye is barely open and my face around it is swollen, and I can feel swollen glands on the side of my face

Still very bad eye. I'm wondering if I may need proper antibiotics? Anyone any idea?

Last bump. This is me but with a frown instead.

I would get it looked at again,at A and E if neceassary belgo. I have had quite a few problems with my eyes over the years, (iritis, scleritis) and the eye casualty doctors always told me to go straight to hospital as GPs know so little about eyes.

Thanks tiggiwinkle. Yes, my GP doesn't seem to know that much, and I'm wondering if tomorrow I could get a proper referral to an eye doctor. They're are usually pretty good at getting you a quick referral even if they don't know much themselves. Failing that, I was also thinking a&e.

I've had eye problems in the past, but never anything like this.

Do you have an eye casualty nearby? Eye conditions can be quite serious and need prompt treatment, as I am sure you know! I would not leave it till tomorrow if I were you.

No no eye hospital nearby. I'm hoping it can wait until tomorrow morning. I just want to go to sleep now, and close my eyes.

Not quite the same thing, but I had a very very bad stye a while back so that I felt extremely ill, face swelled up etc. I had oral antibiotics (flucloxacillin) and this knocked it on the head pdq. I'd go to A&E or emergency docs if I were you.

Thanks daisy steiner.

that's interesting that the antibiotcs helped.

Have you tried bathing it with cooled boiled water with a pinch of salt added ? I find it can help.

Thanks moshiecat. I can't even open it to bathe it unfortunately!

Just been to GP and have emergency opthalmologist appointment this afternoon. The infection is now in both eyes (can still see the computer screen though).

I just hope they can treat it with drugs that won't effect the baby!

I think the cause of the infection was swimming last week - I wore my contact lenses and a nasty bacteria must have gotton under the lense and infected my eye. I think this is why you're not really supposed to wear lenses going swimming!

DON'T wear contacts when swimming! Dailies are better than other types - I'm prone to infections too - and not wearing them too much also good.

I won't ever again Effieperine! I have daily lenses, and only wear them three days a week or so, because I have sensitive eyes. I'm now wondering if I should just forget about the lenses totally.

My last eye infection was only two months ago, it was very mild, and I've had several infections over the last few years, and obviously that's not normal.

I saw my optician not so long ago, but they don't seem so well trained here as in the UK, and they've never given me any advice apart from general eye tests, despite selling me contact lenses for 6 years.

I'm glad I've got an appointment with the eye doctor.

Good luck belgo-let us know how you get on!

Thanks Tiggiwinkle. The belgian health care system is great, but I don't think I would have been able to see an eye doctor last night, on a sunday night.

Just gotton back from the hospital. The tests they did were soooo painful! I must be an absolute wimp, I couldn't stand it.

They've given me strong antibiotic drops and a follow up appointment on wednesday.

Glad you got to see someone blego. It's not nice having stuff done to your eyes is it? (The first time I had Iritis it was not recognised as such for a while and I was sent from pillar to post. By the time I eventually got a diagnosis, it was so bad it would not respond to the drops and I had to have an injection into my eyeball to bring the pressure down. It was not nice!)
I hope it is feeling a bit better today?