Will my swollen eye from wearing contact lenses heal?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have scratched the cornea of my eye twice in the last two weeks. The first time was two weeks ago when I was wearing my contacts for an extended time (no more than normal) and started feeling severe pain, tearing, swelling of my right eye. It felt like the contact in my eye folded over (it was not). Slightly sensitive. It took a couple of days and I was back to normal but had not worn my contacts again until the day before, when I wore for a short time, no problem. Yesterday, I wore them all day and had the same reaction of dry eye, tearing, extreme pain, scratchy eyes, extremely light sensitive and very swollen eye. Do I need to go to a doctor for treatment or will it heal on its own? How long should I wait before I wear my contacts again?

Please answer.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

It looks like you have a huge epithelial defect due to trauma caused by contact lenses. But the possibility of infection can only be ruled out by examining your eye. It would have been great if you would have attached a photograph but, let me suggest some medication that will cover both the defect and infection, if present. So I suggest you to take the medications. Take Carboxymethylcellulose (eye lubricant) 1 % eye drop 10 to 12 times per day, HPMC (Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose) eye ointment twice daily ,Moxifloxacin (antibiotic) eye drops six times a day ,Tobramycin (Aminoglycoside antibiotic) eye drops four times a day, Homatropine (anticholinergic) eye drops once at bedtime (will cause blurred vision especially for near), Polymyxin (antibiotic) eye ointment at bedtime. Discontinue contact lenses for two months. If no relief is obtained in a couple of days, then visit an ophthalmologist. I hope this helps.