Red Eyes

In my mind, there are five basic causes of a red eye: infection (bacterial, viral, fungal, Protozoa), inflammation (those that end in -itis), allergic (immune mediated), trauma (scratch to the eye), and chronic dry eye.  

When I see infection and inflammation at the corneal level, time is of the essence AND it matters where you go for care. Not all offices are equipped to culture the tissue and send it off to the lab to identify the offending agent.  Inflammation and infection can cause corneal scarring and irreversible damage to the cornea.  Corneal ulcer treatment often involves special compounded topical antibiotic eye drops and close follow up with your eye care provider.  The best eye drops for corneal ulcers are often not found at your local pharmacy and have to be a special order.  

After an eye heals, a specialty contact lens (often a scleral lens) can be fit to restore vision and improve healing. This is what we do at the Contact Lens Institute of Colorado! 

Because sleeping in contacts makes it 8 times more likely that you will get a bacterial eye infection (corneal ulcer/microbial keratitis), I never recommend sleeping in contact lenses. In fact, I also recommend not showering or swimming (especially lakes and hot tubs) in contact lenses. 

Eye infections can creep up very quickly (even overnight) so if you do have a red eye, don’t wait to see your eye specialist. 

-Dr. Santelli