<p>My son has allergic conjunctivitis in one eye. This has been going on for at least three months. We have been to the opthomologist several times and he is on his third round of steroid eye drops He is alo using lastacaft eye drops (an allergy drop) and he is taking zyrtec. The steroid drops help but it comes back when he is done. Our family Dr. ordered a respiratory allergy profile (blood test) and it came back negative (pets/trees/grass/weeds/roaches) and only mild dust mite allergy. (he has a wood floor in his room)</p>
<p>I had this problem last fall…only an antibiotic eye drop did the trick…it finally subsided after three rounds of it (with recovery in between)…it kept coming back…</p>
<p>My eye doctor traced the problem to a combination of allergies and dry eye…if the eye was no longer dry, the allergies could be managed with normal allergy eye drops…have been fine since November…</p>
<p>What did you do about the “dry eye?” I am having horrible problems with this this year, for some reason, and drops aren’t helping as much as I wish they were. thanks.</p>
<p>My son has severe allergic conjunctivitis. It’s so bad that when it flares up, his eyes bug out within minutes, with the eyeballs even swelling, and the lids swelling shut. Looks like something out of a Tim Burton movie.</p>
<p>The only thing that helps is antibiotic eyedrops in combination with antihistamine drops and steroid drops, with the antihistamine drops being continue after the swelling has subsided. He takes prophylactic zyrtec and when he is having repeated flare-ups, he has antihistamine drops every single day for months on end.</p>
<p>Take him to an opthamologist vs an optometrist. I would also take him to an allergy specialist and have the skin prick tests done. They are more accurate. I would also say that if after 3 months of allergy treatment that isn’t working, either you need different allergy medications or it isn’t an allergy related problem.</p>
<p>Our S has the same thing and I agree, antibiotics and allegra are the only thing that help him.</p>
<p>I just saw that he only has this in one eye, most likely NOT an allergy related condition if it is only in one eye.</p>
<p>They are only unpreserved saline in individual vials that you use up all at once. I don’t know why they help so much, but they do. You can get packages of 60 vials at a lower per-unit cost.</p>
<p>The other thing that helps is warm compresses - a washcloth soaked in hot water held against the eyes for 5-10 minutes (rewarming as needed, as hot as you can tolerate). This helps a lot, for some reason. I think it gets rid of minor infections?</p>
<p>I did take him to an optomologist, and he swears it’s an alleric reaction, but I agree that one eye seems wierd. I will see if he will prescribe antibiotics. Also he said the compresses should be cold. (?)</p>
<p>It’s not necessarily weird that it would be in one eye. Sinus infections can be on one side, too. It may be a contact allergy, where perhaps pollen, dust, mold, whatever happened to only hit that eye. My son had a hellacious reaction at Macys once when he turned his head just as a perfume stalker was spraying. It was totally allergy-related, but only one eye got the full impact. The other was a little annoyed for a while, but nothing serious.</p>
<p>Why would antibiotic drops be effective if the problem is not a bacterial infection but rather an allergy problem? Do the drops also have anti-inflammatory effects?</p>
<p>For my son, sometimes the allergic reaction responds to antihistamines and is gone quickly. Unfortunately, sometimes he rubs it or touches his eye or whatever and the inflammation caused by the allergy becomes infected. Those secondary infections happen a lot, unfortunately. He is a 13-year old boy and his hands are ALWAYS dirty.</p>
<p>Wasn’t responding to the OP as much as several others who mentioned that antibiotics worked for allergy related issues.</p>
<p>I do take an antibiotic (tetracycline) for rosacea;it is prescribed not for its antibiotic effects, but its anti-inflammatory effects instead, so presumably this could also be an effect of antibiotic eye drops.</p>
<p>I have a similar problem and it is also only in one eye. Antibiotic eye drops help clear it up, but it comes back if I get a cold/sinus infection, and then I have to use the antibiotic drops again. </p>
<p>If you have sinus/allergy problems, there is a slippery slope from irritation to inflamation to infection. I have had these issues for decades. The key is getting on top of the issues asap. So, your son needs to use regular eye moisture drops daily and several times a day during the winter. My optometrist recommended Systane brand, and I like the long-lasting kind the best. </p>
<p>I don’t get why the opthamologist didn’t give your son antibiotic eye drops. That is what my nurse practictioner gave me and it gave me quick relief, within a day or two.</p>
<p>Not sure who asked but I was put on a permanent Restasis regimen following these episodes…</p>
<p>And to the poster who asked about the antibiotic drops, they are anti inflammatory and do the trick, even if the infection is not bacterial in nature…I was also told that unlike oral antibiotics, one doesnt build up a resistance to antibiotic eye drops…they can be used whenever there is an issue again…</p>
<p>I’ve been experiencing this for the past few weeks. Allergies are at an all time high for this time of year because of the unseasonably warm weather. I have fluid in both ears and eyes have been red and sore. I used my prescription allergy drops (Pataday) but they didn’t help.</p>
<p>Two days ago, one lid started getting swollen and sore. I went to my eye doctor yesterday and he gave me antibiotic drops. He mentioned that I probably had ‘blepharitis’, which I’ve had before.</p>
<p>I would consult another doctor, 3 months is WAY too long for something to be going on in your eye without any results.</p>
<p>When our DS’s allergies are acting up, his eyes get red, watery and itchy. The results fro his allergy meds and his Paaday drops are almost instant (at least from the drops and more long lasting from his allergy meds). </p>
<p>Anyone else’s eyes itching thinking about this poor kid . </p>
<p>I hope you find something that works for him soon!!</p>
. </p>