Corneal Ulcer .......2 weeks later still sore eyes!

purple2067

First of all let me say that I am so sorry for the pain you must have been in with your eye! I know how you feel!

I had a corneal ulcer that lasted for about two months. I'll briefly tell you my story. Christmas of 2002 I began to feel like there was something in my eye. But my eyes are VERY dry and I always feel like there is something in them. So I didn't think anything of it and I just put my usual artificial tear drops in. But I started having more pain. It was christmas eve though, and I didn't want to bother my eye doctor for what I thought was just a little dryness. Christmas day it still hurt, and I called the office to find out when somebody would be in. I was told they wouldn't be in for two more days! Apparently my doctor never got the message that I called him. I called back the next day, and to my great surprise the office was open! I was having sever eye pain and they told me to come in immediately. Like you, I had green pus dripping down my face and my eye was beet red and swollen shut. My ophthalmologist took one look at me in the waiting room and dragged me in ahead of everybody else. It turned out that I had one of the deepest, largest ulcers that he had ever seen. He gave me some anti-biotic drops (Ocuflox) and took a culture from my eye. I had to go back every day for follow-ups and it was not healing even with the drops. I saw him on a wednesday and by that saturday he was calling around to see who could make specially fortified drops for me, that were about a hundred times stronger than anything you could find in a regular pharmacy. He was afraid that without them I'd go blind. I would up having to go to New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and go to their pharmacy to get specially made drops that from anti-biotics that they took out of the hospital IV bags. I was on drops made from Vancomycin, which they use for patients with severe pnuemonia, and also fortified Tobramycin drops. I used them at forst every hour around the clock, then every two hours. (but I was allowed to use them every 4 hours at night so I could get some sleep!) I was on those for about a month. They hurt so bad that they made me cry when I put them in, but they did eventually work. Then when the eye was healed, I had to go on steroid drops (fuorometholone, more commonly known as FML) to prevent scarring that would damage my vision. I was also on less powerful anti-biotics for another two-three weeks. And I also had to wear a bandage contact lens because every time I blinked I rubbed off the surface of my cornea and I was back where I started.

When my eye finally healed, I also had EXTREME light sensitivity. It was because my eye was still inflamed. It was also because the surface of the cornea was still very thin and weak and irritated. The cornea is the thin covering that refracts light. Any time it is damaged, you are going to have light sensitivity. It's expected to have a degree of light sensitivity after a corneal ulcer (or with any corneal problems) but you should definitely be seen by an corneal specialist (an ophthalmologist who specializes in the cornea) tp make sure you healed properly and fully and aren't going to have any scarring that could potentially harm your vision.

My light sensitivity from the injury lasted about 2 or 3 months. But I was also on steroid drops and being seen at least once a week by my ophthalmologist, who is a corneal specialist. You need to be seen by an eye doctor as soon as possible for a better evaluation. I am sure you will be fine, but there may be something that can be done to speed up your recovery and help with the light sensitivity. Good luck, and please let me know what happens,

Elyse

purple2067

And I mean that my light sensitivity lasted 2-3 months after recovery!