Eye gevalt!

March 24, 2008 11:30 AM

Sudden eye problem filter: Of course YNMD, and if the problem exacerbates, I'll be off to the Urgent Care Center. But a funny thing happened on my way to Dreamland...

I went to bed for the night at my usual retiring time and all was well. When my bladder awoke me many hours later, I noticed that my left eye felt "funny." I attended to my toilette, and while I was washing my hands, I noticed in the mirror that my left eye seemed to be at half-mast. I leaned closer and noted that not exactly the lid, but the area above the lid crease and below the brow bone was noticeably swollen and puffy. Went back to bed and when I awoke in the AM, the eye was in the same shape.

It doesn't hurt, it's not bruised or discolored, and it doesn't itch. Mr. Adams inspected my closed eye carefully and couldn't find any evidence of an insect bite or a fingernail scratch. My only thought is that it is perhaps a reaction to the new Breathe Right strips I've been using for the past week. I'd been using the traditional Strips for a long time (long history of sinus trouble), but I just recently (within the past week) switched to the clear version which is designed for "sensitive skin" (the regular Breathe Rights adhered so tightly they hurt to remove in the AM). Could a puffy eye possibly be an allergic reaction to some newfangled adhesive in the nasal expanders? Any other theories as to what happened?

posted by Oriole Adams to health & fitness (5 comments total)

I had this once, both above and below one of my eyes. I could hardly see out of that eye at all.

I didn't go to the doctor. The problem went away after, I don't know, half a day. I Am Not Any Kind Of Doctor, but in the absence of any symptoms more alarming symptoms than swelling, I for one would just wait to see what happens and not bother a doctor unless the symptoms, as they say, persist.

My working theory as to what caused my version of the problem is that some allergenic particle got under my eyelid in my sleep, sat there for hours while the eye swelled up more and more, then got washed away by tears, possibly after I woke up. I think the reason why the eye didn't get really irritated or itchy, just swollen, was because all of this was happening while I was unconscious. So I wasn't rubbing my eye, which only ever makes things worse.
posted by dansdata at 11:56 AM on March 24, 2008

I've had similar things happen to me due to what is known as a stye -- an infection of the sebaceous glands at the base of the eyelashes. Take a look at these pics -- look anything like what you have? It usually goes away in a day or two.
posted by peacheater at 1:22 PM on March 24, 2008

You haven't been using Visine, have you? My dad used it several times a day for a week straight (instead of artificial tears) and the doctor said he sterilized his eye, and gave himself blepharitis, or swelling of the eyelid.
posted by IndigoRain at 2:30 PM on March 24, 2008

I had a similar thing, turned out to probably have been a spider bite*. Little bit puffy but with no discomfort for half a day, then it got worse. It didn't start itching until the following day.

It ended up looking really bad (and itchy!) but if went away completely in about a week.

* once the swelling started going down there were two little necrotic pits about the right size for an average wolf spider
posted by porpoise at 2:53 PM on March 24, 2008

The only time this ever happened to me, I was staying over at my grandmother's and she'd put me on sheets that hadn't been washed. She didn't know I was allergic to sizing. Allergic reaction would be my best guess.
posted by Eideteker at 2:59 PM on March 24, 2008