Bloodshot & large veins in eyes - how long to go away?

[britgirl]

Yesterday I met up with an old friend who said my eyes made me look like I've been 'up all night drinking' ... this has made me very self-conscious.

When my dry-eye pain started my eyes were not very bloodshot at all. Just very painful.

the bloodshot eyes are down to my GP prescribing a load of different eye ointments etc. which irritated my eyes. The worst was the fusidin ointment which has resulted in several huge veins across my eye and a yellowy/red patch of veins near my iris.

In the past week I stopped doing hot compresses and have just been using cold compresses and occasional celluvisc drops. There is an improvement but nowhere near how they looked before I used the fusidin.

How long can I expect before the veins fade? Is there anything else I can do to help them fade?

[littlemermaid]

GP prescribing a load of different eye ointments etc. which irritated my eyes?

Has your GP got an ophthalmoscope? Is s/he an eye specialist GP? The NHS currently asks GPs to have a go at managing eyes without equipment or training. They normally sensibly refer to the eye specialists after a short attempt at antibacterials. (Fucidin is the fusidic acid formulation for skin and causes eye damage. S/he should have used Fucithalmic.)

Have you had a referral to an ophthalmologist? This would be to check for inflammation and neovascularisation and surface damage. Hopefully you can get help with a better management plan, eg we are using preservative-free antibacterial drops from Lloyds. Has an ophthalmologist confirmed you even have bacterial infections? You can also get ophthalmologist referral for monitoring on the basis of thyroid eye disease, don't have to have exophthalmia (search www.nhs.uk).

I know it's not easy getting access to someone who knows what they're doing; I'd go private for advice (£180) to an inflammation specialist. Especially if the GP doesn't refer. How did you get on last time? Did you get a follow up appointment? Good luck! happy to PM

[y-gwair]

the bloodshot eyes are down to my GP prescribing a load of different eye ointments etc. which irritated my eyes. The worst was the fusidin ointment which has resulted in several huge veins across my eye and a yellowy/red patch of veins near my iris.

I found this on Fucidin

"Fucidin® H cream contains butylhydroxyanisole, cetyl alcohol and potassium sorbate which may cause local skin reactions (e.g. contact dermatitis). Butylhydroxyanisole may also cause irritation to the eyes and mucous membranes."

Sounds like using the wrong ointment has either exacerbated existing dry eye inflammation or caused additional irritation. In a normal eye, the irritation would probably wear off of its own accord, but in a dry eye increased irritation can feed a negative loop of further inflammation/dryness. I would really try to see someone about it privately asap if you possibly can.

Steroid drops will ease inflamed veins on the eye surface very quickly, so yes, there are treatments that will ease this but they need to be used with caution by a specialist who knows what they are doing. I had problems after using them, so I can't be whole-heartedly positive about them, but they do help many people with no ill-effects.

Does the yellow patch look like this:
http://www.milesresearch.com/main/ey...asp#pinguecula

They are called pinguecula, and seem to be related to dryness. My husband has developed them on both eyes, I think he must have a dry eye condition too but won't see anyone about it of course (using my rejected vials of systane/viscotears for weeks have had no effect on them).