Red lines and pain in scleras. Please help.
Posted , 2 users are following.
About four months ago, my indoor cat scratched my scleras. Admittedly foolishly, I put saline solution in my eyes to moisten them instead of going to the ER as I should've done. As time went by, red lines appeared in my scleras punctuated by throbbing pain. By March I couldn't take it anymore so I went to the optometrist, who said she found no signs of infection, only inflammation due to dry eyes, so she prescribed OMEGA-3 pills, hot compresses and lubricating eye drops, all of which only slightly reduced the pain.
On justanswer, the opthamologist recommended Naphcon A before trying corticosteroids.
Does anyone know any other ways to remove the red lines from the scleras and eliminate the pain?
Thanks in advance.
0 likes, 5 replies
Marina_Dee eric88334
Edited
It sounds as though the cat scratch may have left more of an injury than your optometrist can see. Have you tried an ophthalmologist? Naphcon A is an anti allergy drop which may help but you should only use steroid drops for no more than 2 weeks. By all means try Naphcon A, but if this doesnt resolve or gets worse you may need further attention. Cats claws can harbour a lot of dirt and infection, yes, even an indoor cat. Forget about hot compresses but do continue with the lubricating drops.Dont worry about the red lines at the moment...thats the eyes natural reaction to try and fight infection.
eric88334 Marina_Dee
Posted
Thanks for your help. So you're an eye doctor?
Marina_Dee eric88334
Edited
No, but experienced something very similar about 15 years ago.
eric88334 Marina_Dee
Posted
Ok. Thanks. So, you don't think that, even if there is an infection, that there'd be vision loss, right? I mean, because the claws didn't penetrate my scleras, rather, they scratched them. And it's not like they scratched my cornea.
Marina_Dee eric88334
Posted
If you are saying you are getting loss of vision then you must see an ophthalmologist. A scratch doesnt have to penetrate. If the claws are carrying infection then it can spread into the eye. If the redness gets worse you may need some antibiotic medication to put in the eyes or even take orally. Make sure you keep lubricating the eyes several times per day. If its only a surface injury with no infection then the lubricating drops will help to heal.