URGENT pink eye question

[tmarie]

Is it normal for an eye to be obscenely swollen with pink eye?

This morning I was diagnosed with a double ear infection and bronchitis. I have had tons of yellowish green fluid oozing out of my nose (sorry for TMI!) and have a horrible cough. My eyes started watering terribly this afternoon and I assumed it just indicated I had a fever. Tonight yellowish gunk started accumulating in the corner of my eye. My dd#2 had a short bout of pink eye last week, following the croup. Her pink eye resolved within 12 hours of starting the drops. My eyes are SO PUFFY I can't close them to go to sleep. Has anyone ever experienced this?? I'm just wondering if I need to run to urgent care or wait to see what happens overnight. I sterilized dd's eye drops and used them tonight...but I am not seeing ANY improvement.

Forgive me for sounding so pathetic...I can't even believe what a disaster I am! :o

tmarie

[WatchingThemGrow]

I'd err on the side of going to urgent care, but I've never BTDT. Probably someone else should drive you, though.

[neeleymartin]

not sure that i have heard of swelling from pink eye. are your sinuses swollen? maybe a warm compress would help. wish i could provide more help. hang in there. :hug5:

[tmarie]

yes...lots of swollen sinuses. fluid has literally been pouring out of my entire head (cough, nose, ears filled with fluid) so I guess maybe it makes sense that eyes are next? My dh is very grumpy and sick himself, and driving me to urgent care would require waking up the girls. ugh. I guess I'll hope that this these eye drops start to work. I read that warm compresses are great for pink eye, but I thought cold is better for swelling. Just hoping this is JUST pink eye and nothing more serious that renders me blind by morning, lol.....

tmarie

[bubbaray]

I had this with my sinus infection in the fall. My ENT confirmed that it can happen with a severe SI.

I wouldn't wait. Head to urgent care.

HTH

[tmarie]

I had this with my sinus infection in the fall. My ENT confirmed that it can happen with a severe SI.

I wouldn't wait. Head to urgent care.

HTH

Thank you for replying! Can I ask how they treated it? I have antibiotic eye drops that cleared up my dd's pink eye last week, and I just started a dose of oral antibiotics today to address my ear infection/sinus infection. Is it worth waiting 12 hours to see if these address the pink eye? Thanks!!

tmarie

[bubbaray]

They gave me Avelox for the sinus infection (oral antibiotic) and Fucidin eye ointment (like an eye drop, but is actually an ointment -- PITA to administer, I might add).

FWIW, my eye nearly swelled shut one night. It was horrible. Green gunk coming out. I was like a freak show.

If you wear contacts, throw them out. Ditto any mascara or eyeliner you used.


HTH

[tmarie]

They gave me Avelox for the sinus infection (oral antibiotic) and Fucidin eye ointment (like an eye drop, but is actually an ointment -- PITA to administer, I might add).

FWIW, my eye nearly swelled shut one night. It was horrible. Green gunk coming out. I was like a freak show.

If you wear contacts, throw them out. Ditto any mascara or eyeliner you used.


HTH

Thank you!! I am going to wait until the morning to see if the antibiotics I'm on are working. I appreciate you sharing that your eye swelled shut--needed reassurance that it can be normal with this. So sorry you had to go through this as well...this is obviously my first pink experience!!

tmarie

[KpbS]

Yes! We just suffered through this. DS2 had double ears and conjunctivitis--his eyes were quite puffy. I caught it from him and it was so yuk! My eyes were swollen most on days 1-2 (first rt. eye infected, then left) but improved with Amoxicillin and the antibiotic drops. DS2's eyes stayed swollen for longer (a clue that the antibiotic wasn't eliminating the infection entirely) but once his antibiotic was switched the swelling went down fairly quickly.

So sorry! :hug: Hope things improve quickly. Don't forget to change/wash pillowcases, hand towels, bath towels, etc. fanatically. It can be so stubborn. ETA this was our first (hopefully) last round of it.

[bubbaray]

Just wanted to clarify that I did not have pink eye. I had a sinus infection that, due to the structural deviations interally in my sinuses (which I now know about via CT scan), the sinus infection had spread to my eyes. So, technically, it was a sinus infection in my eyes.

Not that that make the icky green slime coming out of my eyes any easier to see. Ewwwww.

[California]

My kids and I went through goopy eyes last week. My eyes were pink, but I didn't take us in to the doctor so I don't know if it was "pink eye." The school nurse told me to make a warm (hot for me, warm for the kids) compress using a paper towel and salt water (just hot/warm water mixed with a tbs of table salt.) Toss the paper towel when done. She said to do this four times a day for 3-5 minutes at a time. And it worked fast! We didn't go into the doctor because it helped out within 24 hours. We have insurance, but the nurse deals regularly with families without insurance and this is what she suggests that they try. Worth giving it a shot to see if it helps.

[Andi98989]

I had a horrible upper respiratory infection a few years ago and developed pink eye during it. My doctor said that was the type of pink eye for which they can't do anything since it is stemming from the upper respiratory virus. I just had to ride it out. I did find some drops from Similasan (http://www.similasanusa.com/)which helped take the edge off the discomfort.