erythromycin ophthalmic ointment- can i use for possible ocular herpes simplex?
long ѕtοrу short- im pretty sure mу genital herpes spread tο mу eye/cornea. mу eye іѕ very red/bloodshot bυt nο ulcerations οr bumps- іtѕ possibly thе beginning stages. nοt positive, bυt іf ѕο- саn i υѕе erythromycin ophthalmic ointment tο hеlр heal οr ѕtοр thе infection? аnd whаt wіll happen іf іt goes untreated? thanks
It is highly unlikely that you have passed your genital herpes infection to your eye – I think that is your own worry speaking.
Once you have herpes in one location and have had it for more than a few weeks, your body produces antibodies to the virus, which make it virtually impossible to spread the virus to a second location.
Although pain in the eye and redness can be symptoms of ocular herpes (along with ulceration) it is far more likely to be a common infection like conjuncitivis which is very easy to catch, or another eye infection.
If it WAS herpes, erythromycin obviously wouldn’t work because it is an antibiotic and herpes is viral. Ocular herpes, left untreated, would show the same pattern as a genital herpes outbreak, i.e. it would appear and clear up in 3-5 days.
If you use the erythromycin and it clears up, then you know it was a bacterial infection. If it does not clear up, it could be a viral eye infection like viral conjunctivitis, which I had last year.
If it is something like conjunctivitis or another eye infection then you should probably see a doctor, since eye infections can be viral or bacterial in cause. Viral conjunctivitis is very common (and unpleasant, causing the eye to be extremely red and bloodshot). Which you have depends on what treatment the doctor would prescribe – antibacterial drops etc.
Another eye infection like conjunctivitis would NOT clear up on its own, and can be highly infectious to anyone you have contact with, so you should get it looked at.
Erythromycin is an antibiotic and herpes is a virus. So the Erythromycin will not help a virus only a bacterial infection.
The ointment you mention is an antibiotic, which can only treat bacterial infections. It would have no effect on herpes, which is a virus. That said, it is very important that you see your doctor about your symptoms, because herpes of the eye can permanently damage your vision if it is not treated appropriately.