How urgently do I need medical care for my eye problem?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 30 year old male. Currently, my right eye has a segment above the iris that has remained red for over a week now. I am also noticing a crescent shape at the edge of the iris and that is like a clear slightly raised lump where the redness is. Over the past few days, my eyelid is also drooping and makes the eye appear smaller. I still do not have any symptoms such as pain, but now both my eyes are itchy. This tends to happen more at night, accompanied by such thick stringy discharge. Just to give some background, I had a severe case of red, itchy eyes a few months back. Daily night around 10 PM both my eyes would get very red, itchy and would produce clumps of thick mucus, which were so uncomfortable. I could not keep my eyes open. The symptoms only happened at night, regardless of location. I am not sure if this is related to my droopy eye. I have atopic dermatitis and allergic to dust mites. I have been taking Hydroxyzine orally. Could you shed some light on what this may be and how urgently I need medical care? If I need medical help, do I need to go to an ophthalmologist or a regular urgent care suffice?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

With your history of atopy and recurrent redness with stringy or ropy discharge, your eye lesion seems to be atopic keratoconjunctivitis. The larger pointy reddish lesions are called papillae and occur at the limbus, which is the junction of the white of the eye and the cornea (covering over iris). Your line of management will consist of the following. Consult your ophthalmologist, discuss with him or her and take the medicine with consent. Soft topical steroid drops (Fluorometholone/Loteprednol) are advised. Mast cell stabilizers (Olopatadine/Cromoglycate).Cyclosporine drops.Lubricating drops (Refresh tears). Cold compresses to alleviate symptoms. Your doctor may add antibiotic eye drops, if they suspect a co-existing infection and that will be determined by slit lamp examination. I hope this helped.