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Medical Forum / General / Vision / July 2006Repeat Conjunctivitis - 3 times in 12 weeks
Hi, I'm looking for advice on the possible cause of my repeated conjunctivitis infections. It only ever occurs in my left eye & I've had it 3 times in the last 12 weeks (at approx 4 week intervals) & it always clears with chloramphenicol drops. After the 2nd occurence I was refered to the local eye hospital who seem slightly concerned at 2 infections within 8 weeks & suggested syringing the drainage ducts in my eyes incase they were blocked - this was carried out a week ago but they didn't seem to be blocked & I was given the all-clear. I now have my 3rd infection & went to the eye hospital again today where a different opthalmologist suggested that the fault must lay with my lifestyle/habits & they couldn't help other than prescribing eye drops, it was up to me to figure out where I was getting the infection from. Given that my right eye is healthy I find this a little conmfusing - if I was doing something to cause/pick-up an infection wouldn't it be likley that I'd get it in both eyes. I wouldn't consider myself unhygenic (but who would...), don't wear contact lenses & don't work in close proximity to others/share equipment. Any help greatly appreciated. Dave Most eye infections are of staph origin and are usually isolated incidents. You may want to try something a little more efficaciuos than chloramphenicol, but there is possibly only coindidence going on here or there is some source of infection that you don't know about. Keeping mindful of this may be helpful. dr grant asked for help. Maybe this helps, probably not. Consider how you position your head in your pillow when you sleep. Possibly there is a sensitivity to laundry product residues. And allergens can reside in bedding. A bedmate may harbor an unrecognized infection. (Change sides, and see if you get it in the other eye.) Keeping your eyelids very clean by washing them with baby shampoo and tap water may be useful. If you are fastidious, like Mr. Quick, you could use distilled water, or more expensive products from the drug store. -- Dicky (Unprofessional) > asked for help. > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > are fastidious, like Mr. Quick, you could use distilled > water, or more expensive products from the drug store. Not bad advice, as it sounds like chronic blepharitis. I might add to the lid and lash scrubs warm wet compresses against closed eyelids 2 or 3 x per day, followed each time with gentle massage of the lids with the (then cooled down) compress (wash cloth, e.g.). This will help "stir up" the little lid glands and express out any microbial remnants. It is best to do the warm compress/massage routine before you shower, and do the lid/lash scrubs in the shower so you can rinse everything thoroughly. You might also want to try an oral antibiotic (like doxycycline) course for a while, as the eye drop types don't penetrate those glands very well. w.stacy, o.d. Maybe it's not conjunctivitis. What are your symptoms? Dom > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Dave Dom, The symptoms of the 1st infection were: Redness,swollen eye-lids, slight stickyness & crustiness on a morning accompanied with a painfull slight swelling down the side of my nose (adjacent to the eye socket). The 2nd occurence didn't have any swelling but had a gritty/scratchy feel with redness and for a period of approx 24hrs the eye was sensetive to light but this went away & I was just left with the other symptoms mentioned. My 3rd occurence started with the scratchy feeling under the eyelid but this has now gone & I just have a red/pink eye with early morning stickiness. All instances had a little blurring of the vision & occasionally very slight "floaters" were visible. Thanks for everyone's posts so-far. Dave > Maybe it's not conjunctivitis. What are your symptoms? > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > > > Dave Dom, The symptoms of the 1st infection were: Redness,swollen eye-lids, slight stickyness & crustiness on a morning accompanied with a painfull slight swelling down the side of my nose (adjacent to the eye socket). The 2nd occurence didn't have any swelling but had a gritty/scratchy feel with redness and for a period of approx 24hrs the eye was sensetive to light but this went away & I was just left with the other symptoms mentioned. My 3rd occurence started with the scratchy feeling under the eyelid but this has now gone & I just have a red/pink eye with early morning stickiness. All instances had a little blurring of the vision & occasionally very slight "floaters" were visible. Thanks for everyone's posts so-far. Dave > Maybe it's not conjunctivitis. What are your symptoms? > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > > > Dave Dom, The symptoms of the 1st infection were: Redness,swollen eye-lids, slight stickyness & crustiness on a morning accompanied with a painfull slight swelling down the side of my nose (adjacent to the eye socket). The 2nd occurence didn't have any swelling but had a gritty/scratchy feel with redness and for a period of approx 24hrs the eye was sensetive to light but this went away & I was just left with the other symptoms mentioned. My 3rd occurence started with the scratchy feeling under the eyelid but this has now gone & I just have a red/pink eye with early morning stickiness. All instances had a little blurring of the vision & occasionally very slight "floaters" were visible. Thanks for everyone's posts so-far. Dave > Maybe it's not conjunctivitis. What are your symptoms? > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > > > Dave Dom, The symptoms of the 1st infection were: Redness,swollen eye-lids, slight stickyness & crustiness on a morning accompanied with a painfull slight swelling down the side of my nose (adjacent to the eye socket). The 2nd occurence didn't have any swelling but had a gritty/scratchy feel with redness and for a period of approx 24hrs the eye was sensetive to light but this went away & I was just left with the other symptoms mentioned. My 3rd occurence started with the scratchy feeling under the eyelid but this has now gone & I just have a red/pink eye with early morning stickiness. All instances had a little blurring of the vision & occasionally very slight "floaters" were visible. Thanks for everyone's posts so-far. Dave > Maybe it's not conjunctivitis. What are your symptoms? > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > > > Dave >Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > >Any help greatly appreciated. Have they actually done culture and sensitivity tests to see whether the chloramphenicol is actually doing anything more than acting as a lubricant? In my experience they just hand out the drops without doing any testing and so go round and round in circles. Ask your GP or practice nurse to do a swab for C & S and see what comes up? A change in antibiotics might well do the job. Ann not a doc but a patient who has had many an eye infection. Ann - thanks for the advice, they haven't done any tests but I will bear it in mind the next time that I visit the GP. Dave > Have they actually done culture and sensitivity tests to see whether > the chloramphenicol is actually doing anything more than acting as a [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Ann > not a doc but a patient who has had many an eye infection. |
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