OT: Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye) - Be It Bacterial, Viral or Allergic

[Guest guest]

Hey Barb,

 

I read this one after I made my reply.

 

> I woke up this morning with a case of pink eye. Went to medical doctor

> (aka " quack " ) who said it was a " viral " infection, not bacterial (he did

> not elaborate on differences between viral and bacterial). Said it would

> take up to a week to clear up; may go into other eye before it goes away.

 

Without a culture or at least examining fluid under a microscope, it is

not easy (possible?) to determine if its bacterial or viral. Plus,

viral and bacterial are but two of the three causes of Conjunctivitis.

A third common cause is allergic .. but in my non medical opinion, you

have described below the most common form .. bacterial.

 

And .. he knows it is bacterial too cause Viral Conjunctivitis typically

takes 3 weeks to resolve itself .. longer if your immune system is low.

 

A virus has no life of its own .. its has an incomplete structure so it

can't sustain life alone .. it must have a host. Most viruses are short

in the area of structure .. like maybe it has RNA .. but no DNA so it

can't survive without as host .. so the critter waits until conditions

are ideal and joins with human body cells to become a parasitic creature

that will sort of live .. though not really. This is a scratch at the

surface explanation but its not intended to be a medical review. If

y'all want one of those I can give it .. got the data in a book. ;-)

 

Most (not all) viruses stay with us for life .. they come forward from

time to time and then go back into defilade until its time to come back.

Microbial critters we can kill dead and they stay under snakes.

Viruses we cannot kill dead .. they are very interesting critters.

 

But calling ailments " viral " is common in the field of medicine.

 

And .. antibiotics do nothing against viral critters. Viral infections

can be prevented .. but rarely can they be cured and even then they do

not DIE because they are not ALIVE in the first place. They just go

back into defilade and lurk .. with beady eyes and sharp fangs. ;-)

 

> Did give me an Rx for drops because we are going into a weekend, but I

> am not to fill the Rx unless symptoms get worse because drops may make

> things worse.

 

Dude gave you antibiotics. ;-) He says its viral cause that is the

catch all and he collects the same fee from you .. then he gives you an

eye drop that covers a wide range of bacterial critters .. which is a

safe bet for him. Point is .. he is helping to perpetuate the myth that

most things are viral .. and that antibiotics kill viruses.

 

And he knows there is NO CURE for Viral Conjunctivitis. The only thing

that can be done in viral cases is get relief from the symptoms .. and

sometimes just using the OTC artificial tears can help a lot.

 

Just on the outside looking in I would guess that you described him well

when you called him a Quack!

 

> Eye is currently " pink " where it should be white,

 

Bacteria are causing irritation .. thus, the name Pink Eye.

 

> and feels " gritty " like sand is in the eye.

 

And .. they leave behind some sign of their presence .. got my point?

 

You have just described a very classic bacterial infection of the

conjunctiva.

 

> Doesn't hurt, just uncomfortable.

 

But .. if bacterial it can hurt a lot if left untreated. If viral it

will go away on its own .. if allergic then the outside stimuli must be

eliminated or avoided.

 

> This is killing me because I have a month old grandson that I can't be

> around until this is cleared up. And guess what???? Mother's Day is

> Sunday, and I can't hold my grandson.

 

Absofrigginlutely you can't .. Conjunctivitis is HIGHLY contagious.

Sorry to be the bearer of worse news .. but you should not even shake

hands with folks during this period cause odds are you will have touched

an area in or around your eye prior to that.

 

> I think I will call an eye doctor to get another medical opinion....

 

Good that is .. its a routine thing with them and you will get the

PROPER treatment. The proper treatment will depend on whether it is

bacterial, viral or allergic. And you have described the classic

bacterial infection .. the most common form of Conjunctivitis.

 

One don't gotta be a medical doctor to know what I presented here ..

even dumb ol' kuntry boys can learn some things from living .. just as a

blind hawg can find an acorn now and then. ;-) But them old ladies

whut used to treat folks when I was a yonker knew all this stuff and

some of them couldn't read a lick.

 

> Thank you!

> Barb

 

Welcome fer'shur .. get well soon .. visit the eye doc .. and mention

Rose Hydrosol to that feller .. he might be one of those who knows more

than what is written in his pharmaceutical guide.

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com