HELP! AM I MAKING IT WORSE?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hello all,
Thank you for taking the time to look at my post.
Four days ago my 18-month-old daughter accidentally stuck her finger up into my left eye. Literally under the eyelid.. It all happened in an instant and the pain was excruciating; runner-up if not the worst I've ever felt.
I visited the ER as soon as my wife got home because I couldn't drive myself sooner, The doctor put some pain drops and something I'm going to call highlighter-ish drops in my eye, flipped my upper eyelid up, looked at it under a black light and said "Wow, she got you good".
Then he tells me she got my eyelid really good and she scratched my eye a bit too. He prescribed me some Vicoprofen And some antibiotic ointment for my eyeball.
I've been putting slight pressure against my eye with a clean rag with an ice cube in it ever since I got home to help with the pain; now that I can finally open my eye for short periods at a time my vision is extremely blurry.
I'm still keeping it closed the majority of the time as it is less painful closed. Should I try keeping it open for longer periods even though it hurts for eye-health reasons?
here's a picture: http://imgur.com/VM8ezeb
The pharmacist told me that the ointment would make my eye blurry for about 15 minutes but I'm experiencing blurry vision out of that eye all day.
Basically what I'm asking is did I hurt my vision more by putting pressure and ice?
Will my vision ever return? Should i hold my eye open even though it hurts? I've never had vision problems in my life!
Thanks in advance for any help or advice you may have to offer!
0 likes, 6 replies
icecool OuchMyEye
Posted
Sounds horrendous. You really do need to get this checked out again to make sure that the abrasion is not infected. The swollen eyelid is not helping because it will obviously be oressing down on our eye adding pressure.
I would stop the ice as it restricts the circulation of blood to the eye. Try hot bathing instead of cold.
You may need a different antibiotic. In any case the usual practice is to review the eye on a daily basis is to check for any infection .
Can you get someone to drive yo to the eye specialist asap?
mrsmop OuchMyEye
Posted
How often do you have to use the antibiotic ointment & for how long?
Have you been offered a follow up appointment?
I have to use antibiotic drops occasionally & they are prescribed for both eyes for 4 weeks. I use them once a day & they blur mye eyes so much, that I use them when I go to bed, so that I can keep my eyes shut.
Can you telephone your specialist & ask for advice, or perhaps the ER?
Personally, I don't think the ice cube will do you any harm but I wouldn't apply pressure on your eye. And if it doesn't want to open, then don't force it. It will open when it is ready.
You posted this a day ago, I hope things have improved for you & perhaps you have contacted a doctor.
Light OuchMyEye
Posted
If your eye wants to shut, I'd say keep it shut.
I can't address your specific problem, but I do know my London opthalmologist told me, rather cutely : "A closed eye is a happy eye",
Mine was a case of extreme dry eyes, but after he told me that, I realised the wisdom of it. The eye almost certainly will heal more quickly, not to mention feeling more comfortable while it heals.
I know how painful it is to have anything in your eye, let alone, an 18-month-old's baby's finger!
Do you have an eye patch?
OuchMyEye
Posted
Thanks everybody for all the advice!
I visited an opthamologist on Monday morning as soon as I could get in there..
My eye had already started showing signs of improvement by then.
They prescribed me an antibiotic drop (ciprofloxacin) rather than the ointment (erythromycin). They told me that ointment for use in the eyes is an outdated practice due to the need to actually touch your eye in order to administer it (as this risks transferring bacteria to your eye and also risks you poking your eye again and making things worse). They also had me administer 1 drop of "SYSTANE Balance" (OTC rewetting drops) every hour to promote healthy healing conditions.
The blurred vision was from having so much swelling in the cornea from the abrasion itself. The doctor explained that when the cornea (basically a clear pocket of fluid) swells it becomes opaque rather than clear which blocks some vision making things appear blurred.
Now about 6 days after the injury (Tuesday) I have about 80% of my vision back (up from the about 10% vision I had on Saturday) they predict tomorrow or the next day I should be back to 100%.
As far as pain it's just about completely gone! Thank God!!
To anyone with a similar situation reading this: I recommend you do whatever it takes to be comfortable! I didn't hurt my eye any more with ice & pressure; however it did make my recovery much more tolerable. Also don't hesitate to visit the ophthalmologist, it might seem out of your budget right now but as I'm sure you realize now your vision is precious and you only get two eyes; It's not the same with one!
If I would have visited the opthamologist earlier they could have given me a "bandaid in the form of a contact lens" which would have helped avoid the extreme pain every morning when I opened my eye for the first time (which comes from the healing cells partially bonding to your eyelid and then re-ripping away from your cornea when you open your eyelid).
Thanks so much for your advice/ help everyone who took the time to respond. I really appreciate it and I'm glad that websites like these exist for people in situations like mine because with some injuries like mine you can get a serious case of insecurity about your current condition.
Some of the comments make you feel so much more secure; just knowing other people out there have been through what your experiencing is comforting.
I WOULD NOT WISH THIS EXPERIENCE ON MY WORST ENEMIES!!
icecool OuchMyEye
Posted
I agree qwith your sentiment that you would nnot wish this ondition on your worst eneemy.
It is scary and painful.
I have sent you a detailed PM about corneal abrasions.
I am concerned about the second choice of antibiotic.
One of the side effects of this antibiotic is a posterior vitreous detachment. It may deal with the infection but at what cost.
There are alternatives to this antibiotic.
In the case of dry eyes which is a serious condition my consultant ophthalmologist prescribed lacrilube which is to be instilled at night in bed as it causes blurring of vision for over thirty minutes.Artificial eye drops were prescribed for daytime use. sadly I was allergic to these so found the only way to get some comfort was to apply tissues that had been soaked then wrung out over each closed eyelid . This helped without causing the horrid stinging that the artificial teardrops , even the expensive hypoallergenic induced.
NB.
It is very important to treat dry eyes as it is a serious condition .
Anway you are over the worst but my advice as a former healthcare professional would definitely be t switch to an alternative antibiotic. Ths can only be prescribed by a dr.
Chloramphenicol used to be widely used for eye infections or the prophylactic treatment of same.
Good luck.
icecool OuchMyEye
Posted
However I would wait for the corneal abrasion to heal first before doing this at least to the eye with the abrasion as you do not want to run the risk of inadvertently introducing any further infection.
Also I would avoid hair washing for a week or two. Even then use a mild shampoo preferbly one from a health shop.Also avoid smoky atmospheres, aerosols, perfumes, deodrants esp aerosols, talcum powder in fact anythng that can cause a problem should it get anywhere near your eyes.
Sounds drastic but it is a relatively temporary mesure albeit it may not feel as such at the time!!
Wearing an eyepad at night to prevent any scratchng of the eye whilst asleep is also adviseable as is wearing sunglasses in the daytime irrespective of the weather is adviseable due to the pain and the eye strain.A;lso avoid the elements as much as possible particularly wind in case anything should blow into your eye(s).
This will pass.