Help for Pink Eye

E.,

Yes it is true that MOST forms of pink eye are viral, however, that does not mean all! Most Dr.'s these days do not want to treat it due to the fact that most are viral. I would definately call an opthomologist (SP?) It does not sound like yours is viral in nature. With the environment that you are in, it is very likely that yours could be bacterial and need treatment. The only true way to know which one it may be is to be cultured. (very easy and painless) The Opthomologist will give you drops, or ointment if severe enough and you should be right as rain in 48 hours.
Hope this helps.
(if unaware of a local opthomologist, check your insuance webset for Dr.'s in plan)
M.

I would defintely get a 2nd opinion. I have had pink eye a few times and a "cold" in my eye a few times. When I had pink eye, I had a prescriptiona dn returned to work after using for 24 hours. It is very important to wash your hands often. When I had the cold, it was very much like pink eye without all the gook in my eye. I was told it was not contagious and it went away on its own. I didn;t have to miss work for that.

get a second opinion!!! I had pink eye a lot in College, and had a running refillable perscription for an eye drop that cleared it up within 24 hours. I once went to the ER for an extremely bad case, and they also gave me the speech that it is viral and they can do nothing, so I suffered for 3 days, then called my personal eye doc, and got what I needed and it was gone the next day. This was the one and only time in my life it lased for more than 24hrs. Find an eyedoc who can help. I'll call mine tonight (he's a personal friend) and find out exactly what he gave me, so e-mail me if the doc still gives you trouble.

I get soooo many eye infections and I have found the best remedy is good old contact solution. It contains Boric Acid, which you can also buy and use as an eye wash, but the contact solution is easier and faster. I use it around once an hour and my eyes are usually clear in a day. But I keep putting drops in for an additional day, just not as frequent. When I was in high school and college I did get prescription eye drops, but I can't remember a time that it lasted more than a day. Don't forget to change your pillow cases and sheets every day.

are you taking any drops for it? if not you need to and then you will be able to go to work after having the drops for 24 hours.

This just happened to my husband this summer. My son got pink eye, spread it to me, then it spread to my husband. It is a nasty thing. He ended up being out of work for 3 weeks, and had to go on disability so he could get a paycheck. His infection got worse than all of ours because he wears contacts, and that trapped the infection in his eye and turned into a bacterial infection and he was close to a ulcer in his eye. If you have contacts, you have to destroy them. I would get an appointment immediately with an opthalmologist. Usually they consider pink eye an emergency appt. My husband had 2 prescription meds, one was a very strong steroid. Once those meds kicked in, he was good to go in a week. (I know not what you want to hear). They say you should wash your pillowcases every day in hot water, and don't reuse face cloths. Definitely don't rub your eye and then touch the other one. And you will need to throw away any eye makeup you have used in the infected eye - mascara, eyeliner, etc.. I feel for you, because I was so nervous my husband's employer was going to use it against him. However, it is truly a medical infectious disease and you aren't allowed to work with it. Check with your employer on short term disability and FMLA to protect your job.

Warm tea bag on your eye, that alleviates the swelling and itch. People swear by Boric Acid, that is what is found in the contact lense solution. Clean your eye with that,it does not burn and do both every hour. Most people claim to get rid of their pink eye in 2-3 days. I am going through it right now with my boyfriend, he said the tea bag stopped the itching immediatly.

E.:

Do you know anyone who is breastfeeding who might give you an ounce of milk? Breastmilk eyedrops are an excellent treatment form pink eye.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions

Similison (sp?) has homeopathic remedies for Pink Eye and many other afflictions. You can buy them in the medicine section of Walmart, walgreens or any box store. They do help and antibiotics can help too. How does he know that it is viral? It is generally caused by fecal matter. You can get it at a school, daycare or at a horse barn. Keep them both clean, keep your house disinfected and wash your hands and eyes often. You could be recontaminating yourself.

Hope this helps!

M.