Has Anyone Had Experience with a Corneal Ulcer?

I did not take proper care of my contacts in college and got corneal ulcers. My eyes were very sensitive to light, watery and painful. I had to wear my glasses for a while and use eyedrops prescribed by the eye doctor. It almost looks like conjunctivitis to start with, then gets worse.

Is it painful? My 22-year-old had one diagnosed two weeks ago and she was in so much pain she could barely stand to open either eye! She at first thought it was pink eye, but it got worse and worse. She had two prescriptions for drops and she had to put them in her eyes (alternating one drop then the next) every hour. She also had to go back to the eye doctor for three days in a row to have her pressures tested. I guess if not treated quickly or properly, it can really do some damage to your eye.

Don't be anxious about the doctor. In fact, she loved going in there because they put some numbing drops in her eye in order to look at it and it was the first relief she had in days. (Make sure you're going to an opthalmologist and not just an optician.)

I have had a corneal ulcer and I don't remember it being real painful. I had to wear glasses for a few weeks and do the drops. Everytime I go back to the eye doctor they can always see the scar. Good luck and don't be nervous.

I had a corneal ulcer last year and unfortunately it was the end of my contact wearing! It happened out of the blue - one day while I was driving I suddenly felt like something was in my eye and burning and I had to rip out my contact lense and drive straight home (with one eye open!)

I had been wearing contacts for about 12 years without a problem ever. I was bad, though, and I wore them 24/7 for two weeks, wore my glasses for a day, then right back to the 24/7 contacts (disposables). I knew I shouldn't be doing that but my eyes always looked great when I got them checked.

When I got the ulcer my doctor told me not to wear the contacts while I administered medication (drops) for a week (I think). After that he checked and said that there was no residual damage and I could go back to contacts, but I had to be good and remove them at night. I tried and for some reason the contacts just don't seem to work for me anymore - we tried a few different ones and the doctor swears that it the right prescription but I just don't feel right with them in my eyes any more and that drives me crazy! I hate wearing my glasses. I want to go back to contacts but I don't know if I'll be able to, so I'm now hoping to be able to afford the laser surgery in a couple of years.

This probably didn't help you and I apologize, but this was my experience with it...best of luck to you.

I have a scar on my eye from the ulcer. I too am a contact lens wearer. I had deposits on my eye from not cleaning my contacts (back in high school). Actually it was a blessing in disguise back in the day. I had to wear a patch and I didn't go to to a basketball game that night due to the patch. My friends were in a car accident and because of the ulcer I stayed home. To make a long story short. Anyways...as an adult don't mess with your eyes and congrats to making your DR appointment already. I hope all goes well. Feel free to ask any other questions.

I had one once. It was from wearing contacts. My enzymatic cleaner wasn't working and I had massive build-up on the lens that caused it.

I think I had to wear my glasses for like 2 weeks and use steriod eye drops until it healed.

yeah an ulcer is painful. My sis in law is on medication for ulcers in her eyes right now. She said her doc told her that bacteria must have gotten under her contacts often and it cause the ulcers. She has like 10 of them right now. So she is on meds and has to wear her glasses for a while until they clear up but she said that it will clear up and she will be fine. So just go get it looked at but you will be fine.

Are you in pain? Because a corneal ulcer is painfull, and a while dot that isnt painfull can be a Cataract that isn't mature yet. Contact a ophthamologist! Good luck :)

hi,
if its a true corneal ulcer, you should run to your nearest eye doc. true bacterial or viral ulcers can be devastating to eye sight.
treatment involves 2 drops of vigamox (broad spectrum) antibiotic every 15 min for the 1st hour, and then the dr will send you home to use it every 2 hrs until your f/u visit the next day...
no contact lens use for the next week to two...

Ophthalmologists AND optometrists can treat corneal ulcers. Just wanted to clear that up. Ulcers are often painful. You have to stay out of contacts until it heals. You get put on frequent antibiotic drops, artificial tears, and sometimes steroids. They usually heal up in a couple weeks. Good for you for going to the eye doctor! The sooner you start treatment, the better you'll feel if that is what you have.

Also, a white dot on your iris is different than a white dot on your CORNEA. A white area on the sides of your cornea with no other symptoms could certainly be something other than an ulcer. It could be a pterygium or a pinguecula.

You'll have to update us when you find out what it is.

Hi - I had a corneal ulcer about 1 year ago. Dr. told me to not wear contacts for 6 - 8 weeks and had to use some antibiotic drops and gel during that time. By about three weeks, I thought all was fine and wore my contacts for a day. Bad move. Ended up starting all over and wore my glasses for 8 weeks. Depending on the severity, I would go by Dr's orders so you can get back into the lenses quickly. :)