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'At my job I shared an office with a veteran returned from Iraq. He complained of dry eyes and shortly after I developed the same condition, possibly due to handling the doorknob of the same office. Soldiers sometimes refer to this as the "Iraqi Eye Crud". I found that I was getting a hard residue along the eyelid and eyelashes, inflammation of the eyelid and reduced tear flow. I consulted an eye doctor and she gave me some eye drops which helped a little, but she advised me that if the drops did not clear the problems, eye surgery might be necessary. After a while, I tried using Neosporin around the eyes to remove the hard residue around the eyes, which worked well. In doing so, I accidentally got some Neosporin in the eyes, mixing with the eye fluids. I did not notice any irritation of the eye from the Neosporin and it actually seemed to increase the flow of tears in my eyes, reduced and gradually eliminated the inflammation of the eyelids. I find that this condition has improved quite a bit over time and is almost completely gone now. The Neosporin package has warning saying "Not for use in the eyes". I called Johnson & Johnson about this to inquire about the reason for this warning. They told me the warning was because they have never tested Neosporin for use in the eyes. I told them that "I have used it in my eyes and had no problems. I'm your guinea pig." They asked my name and contact information, but never contacted me again.' http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170743.php
http://www.healio.com/ophthalmology/...sms-increasing NEW ORLEANS, AAO 2013— The incidence of atypical organisms is on the rise, and the organisms are likely to appear in ophthalmologists’ offices, Kristin M. Hammersmith, MD, said here at Cornea Subspecialty Day preceding the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting. (Healio.com - open access, easy to register)
'“When we treat these patients, we often go into automatic pilot,” Hammersmith said. “However, the clinician should look for signs that we may be headed for a different infection.”
“Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is misdiagnosed as herpes in three-fourths of our patients,” she said.
Hammersmith noted that just because a patient gets better with antibiotics does not mean it is a bacterial infection.
“There are several case reports of an antifungal effect of antibiotics, specifically fluoroquinolones,” she said. “If you don’t have a culture, you don’t know the organisms."
She recommended culturing when in doubt, referring if the patient is not responding to therapy and avoiding the temptation to start a steroid if there is uncertainty.'
http://www.healio.com/ophthalmology/...sms-increasing NEW ORLEANS, AAO 2013— The incidence of atypical organisms is on the rise, and the organisms are likely to appear in ophthalmologists’ offices, Kristin M. Hammersmith, MD, said here at Cornea Subspecialty Day preceding the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting. (Healio.com - open access, easy to register)
'“When we treat these patients, we often go into automatic pilot,” Hammersmith said. “However, the clinician should look for signs that we may be headed for a different infection.”
“Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is misdiagnosed as herpes in three-fourths of our patients,” she said.
Hammersmith noted that just because a patient gets better with antibiotics does not mean it is a bacterial infection.
“There are several case reports of an antifungal effect of antibiotics, specifically fluoroquinolones,” she said. “If you don’t have a culture, you don’t know the organisms."
She recommended culturing when in doubt, referring if the patient is not responding to therapy and avoiding the temptation to start a steroid if there is uncertainty.'