Home› Health & Wellbeing
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options

eye infection - self help?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Health & Wellbeing
i think one of my eyes/tear ducts is infected. the top eyelid is sore, red and swollen, and there's pus-type ming coming out of the teeny hole in the inside corner. plus my eyes in general feel a bit scratchy.

it's not really that bad, plus it's friday night, so i'm after some self-help tips. i've been keeping it clean and trying not to touch it, but is there anything i can do to clear it up without any faff?

i seem to remember my mum soaking a cotton bud in salty, boiled water and holding it on our eyes when we had styes and stuff. don't remember if this worked, but probably worth a try. anything else i could try?

Comments

  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Eye drops from a pharmacy?
    Chloramphenicol is good for infections.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    well when u wake up are your eyes like stuck shut? This is because the puss secretes when you sleep then dries out sticking your eyes together! If this is the case then it sounds like conjuctivitis - just an infection. Go to the clinic and the will give you like a cream to put in the red bit when you pull your eye down then just blink and its done. Do it for about a week and you should be relieved of the pain!!
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sikorah wrote:
    Eye drops from a pharmacy?
    Chloramphenicol is good for infections.

    Agree with this. You can buy chloramphenicol over the counter now, used to be prescription only. Pop down to a pharmacy tomorrow and get your self some. Should clear up in a couple of days then :thumb:
  • Options
    SkiveSkive Posts: 15,286 Skive's The Limit
    Conjunctivitis is horrible, I've had it twice. Best bet is to go to the chemist and get some special gel to sqirt in your eye.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    That optrex stuff with the eye wash thing might help.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    snapping_crocodile wrote:
    Agree with this. You can buy chloramphenicol over the counter now, used to be prescription only. Pop down to a pharmacy tomorrow and get your self some. Should clear up in a couple of days then :thumb:
    Yup, the only antibiotic eye drop thats avaliable over the counter.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it's only the chemical stuff that actually works to clear it up. Most of the other home remedies tend to just result in more mess, or cross-infection.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i'm pretty sure it's not conjunctivitis, cause it's literally just my eyelid that's affected, and only the inner corner around the tear duct, at that.

    i did some googling that said most minor infections clear themselves up after a few days, so i'm keeping it clean and keeping an eye (haha) on it.


    another question though, that i'm not sure many people will know, but worth a try:

    does inflammation without infection produce pus?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    wouldnt have thought so
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Inflammmation without infection will not cause pus...inflammation on it's own willl just cause redness, whereas pus is the result of a bacterial infection. Pus is actually a collection of white cells produced by the body in response to infection, along with little mutants of the bacteria. If this pus somehow migrates to the other eye, then the other will also become infected...so basically you have an infection. Keep a close watch and if it doesn't clear up in a couple of days, get down to a chemist, or your GP if you get free prescriptions! :yes:
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Could it be blepharitis?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kentish wrote:
    Could it be blepharitis?

    it doesn't seem as bad as the symptoms list on there.

    the only bit that's affected is the tiny hole on the inside of my upper right eyelid - it's sore and oozes stuff from time to time, and maybe a centimetre all round there is a little swollen and red too. other than that, it's business as usual.

    possibly it is, but really mildly?

    it seems to be getting less sore, anyway, so it must like something i'm doing.
Sign In or Register to comment.