I have had a red eye for 3 days. No pain just uncomfortable and not affectiing sight. I have had GCA diagnosed since March (second time around) and now on 6 mg for the last month and staying on that for next month.
Went to pharmacy who told me to ring 111 and see dr. After 1 hour on phone waiting for connection gave up. Drs unavailable until tuesday. Anyone else had this symptom and is it connected to GCA. I am also on blood thinners. Would appreciate any advice. Gave it an eyewash with sterilised water and small ammount of salt which has helped.
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MaryHelen2
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Probably a side effect of Pred….it’s quite common, and although it looks dramatic, is usually quite harmless. Pred makes the tiny capillaries more prone to damage - in eyes as well as under the skin on arms and legs..,and blood thinners mean blood flows more easily when that happens.
I had it a few times, and yes the first time you automatically assume it's GCA, but it's usually not. My GP even got me an emergency appointment with eye clinic, but as they said it should go within a week or so, and it did!
If by any chance is does go on longer and is painful then get it checked, but otherwise don't worry, just another thing to be aware of!
I’ve had it a few times while my small blood vessels were made more delicate by the Pred. Dry eyes made it more likely to happen but sometimes there was no rhyme nor reason unit my Pred dose was below 3mg or so. Is this it here? patient.info/eye-care/eye-p...
Likewise. Sometimes you can get the smallest foreign body in the eye which you do not necessarily notice, but can irritate. Just another joy, but should be harmless.
I got it just before Halloween. If I glanced at myself in the mirror I spooked myself. In my case the whole of the white went red, it then went away again. They say that pink eye is a symptom of Covid.
Subconjuctival haemorrhage is quite common when on pred and being on anticoagulant therapy won't help either - it can look quite dramatic! If it is that it will clear over the next couple of weeks on its own and isn't a problem even on blood thinners (so I was told by the eye specialist when my GP rang him to check).
If it is more like conjunctivitis it could be an infection and probably needs management so needs a doctor's input.
Absolutely agree with Pro.SH is pretty common especially with conditions like GCA , high blood pressure or inflammatory illnesses and can often happen on blood thinners and steroids and certain other drugs .
It can sometimes cause a bit of an achy feeling around the eye socket as well and feel a bit warm but its not usually itchy .
Conjunctivitis more often feels sore , hot and itchy and the eye socket tissue is often inflamed or the eyelids are swollen as well if your whole or part of the eye itself is red its often because the irritation has also caused you to rub it and a SH has happened too.
Rest your eyes as much as you can is the best remedy and reduce your screen time on computers , phones or TV while it clears up as this can tire the eyes and make it more likely to cause a little gnawing headache.
An occasional eye wash with plain boiled then cooled water from an eye bath or using a cloth with luke warm water over closed eyes can be soothing too.
Try to use a soothing cloth if you are tempted to rub it as that is likely to make it worse or slower to recover as you can break more capillaries.
It does usually clear up on its own , I get many of these not just from GCA but because I have Dry Eye Syndrome and that plus the drying nature of some of my medications can add to how often it occurs. If it feels like it is becoming painful or effecting your vision and causing headaches try to get to see an optician to check it.
In the future if you do feel you have dry eyes or issues like this happening more regularly speak to your GP about getting gel tears for the day and a night eye gel with Vitamin A for nights which improves your eye health and reduces the chances of getting SH because of dry and sore eyeballs.
Thanks for your detailed reply. Everyone has been very reassuring and i feel less panicking as i was getting stressed. I do have a dry eye condition and regularly use hydrosan drops recommended by my optician. Over Christmas i have forgotten to use them which wont have helped.
Definitely , just a small change like that with a dry eye condition can cause this sort of SH. We always think we will be fine in the winter if we miss hydrating our eyes but the opposite us true really , our eyes can dry out a lot more in winter because of wind and cold and because of being in heated houses .Your return to using drops will also help your eyes recover a lot quicker.
Glad you feel more reassured now , take care and have a great New Year.
Nobody has mentioned Marginal Keratitis, which makes the white of the eye red. I’d get a medical opinion ASAP, I was sent straight to the hospital emergency eye clinic for prescribed eye drops.
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