pink eye and RA - Eye & Vision Message Board

jtannone13 · 01-02-2008, 01:54 AM

My husband just came down with a bad case of pink eye, on the tail end of a cold. He has Rheumatoid Arthiritis and is on Enbrel, Methotrxate and Celebrex. We're concerned that his immune system is really down and further infections might be lingering. He has started antibiotics for a sinus infection and another for his eyes. How long should it take to clear up the pink eye and what other symptoms should we watch for?

Aurora · 01-02-2008, 11:19 AM

Depending on the type of infection and the type of antibiotics I would expect him to have a noticeable improvement within 48 hours maximum. In severe cases this can sometimes be up to 72hours. If there is an improvement he must still continue using it until he has taken the full dose prescribed. He should also practice good ocular hygiene and not risk infecting his other eye if at all possible.

If, however, his symptoms are significantly worsening over the next 24 hours he should consider getting it re-examined to be sure he is being given adequate treatment.

Hope that helps, and hope he feels better soon.
H

jtannone13 · 01-02-2008, 01:02 PM

Thanks for the response. He actually already had it in both eyes. He's been cleaning them often and i've been disinfecting everything. His right eye has shown improvement (the first to be infected), but his left eye still looks horrible. He's using his drops every 3 hours, so I thought it would start to improve sooner, but I guess we'll wait until tomorrow to see if it's getting better.
We did hear from his rheumatologist this morning, and he's fine taking all the antibiotics along with his meds. Although, he did say that if the eye is still infected on Friday, my husband needs to skip his next methotrexate injection. He needs to allow his body to fight the infection without suppressing his immune system more.
Thanks for the info