Hello everyone, welcome to todays video. I got a viral infection on my left eyelid and it has been a tough week; I was in a lot of pain and I also had to do a lot of running around trying to get diagnosed. I have never had a serious problem with my eyes before and honestly it was quite scary just because eyes are sensitive and they could get damaged. I am going to talk you through the process, from my initial misdiagnoses to getting prescription medicine for the virus.

On Sunday night my eyes were feeling itchy and I kept rubbing them. I decided to use a hot compress before I slept. However, when I woke up the following day my eye still hurt and there was a small bump. I was used to oil gland on my inner eye lid but nothing like this so I book an an appointment at the optometrist.

Monday afternoon, the doctor examined my eyes and said everything looked health still. It’s just the eyelid. So they though maybe it was a stye; I bought eye drops and I was told to continue with hot compress; and if things didn’t improve I should come back.

I did the hot compress up until Monday night, but the thing on my eyes kept growing and I started to worry about popping it. So, from Tuesday morning I switched to just using a hot towel to place on top it. I know my body well, and by night time that day I was sure I didn’t have a stye and this was something that needed more than just a hot towel. I am always down for a cheap home remedy; but this was my eye. I was not playing about. If you ever get a little bump on your eyes, get it checked asap if you can.

Wednesday morning I woke up and I went back to the optometrist. I was convinced I did not have a stye. I had watched it for longer enough and it does not seem to be staying as one bump. There are multiply clusters of blisters on the corner on my eyelids and the swelling is so bad I cannot lift my eyes properly.

I went in to see the optometrist and we both laughed at how much this was not a stye. And they referred me to a hospital who should be able to give me a medication. When the hospital called a few minutes later they booked my appointment for the following day, but asked me to visit my GP quickly to get antiviral medicine. From the photos sent by my optometrist, the hospital said it looks like it might be shingles.

I called my GP to book me in as an emergency, I was able to see a doctor at 4:50pm and they looked worried. We spoke about what I’ve had in the past and I mentioned that I do get cold sores, and this looked like it. But it was weird to get in on my eyelids. They asked me if I was under a lot of stress to which I said yes actually.  So the shingles theory was possible, even though its more common in elderly people and I was prescribed some medicine.

Wednesday night plan of action was to stop the hot compress because that doesn’t work. And to squeeze in my 5 tablets for the day. It was around 5pm when I took my first one.

The medicine is meant to be taken for 5 days, 5 times a day and it should help with pain and healing.

Thursday I had an appointment in the morning with an eye clinic hospital to have my eyes looked at again to confirm if it was shingles or something else. My vision is fine and my eyes are healthy so I am happy. Just a little frustrated about getting a virus. At the hospital appointment, the doctor was unsure as it looked looked like mild shingles and it could also have cold sores but appearing on a wired spot. I have a history of cold sores, which I normally would get under my nose. So overall, I didn’t find out exactly what virus I had. But I am leaning towards cold sore. I had already started mediation for shingles, which is the same as if to treat cold sores but just the dosage is higher. The doctor advised to carry on with that because it’s better to play it safe and protect my eyes as much as possible. I was also prescribed an anti viral eye gel, as another safety net.

Getting an eye infection, was horrible and the timing was so bad. I had a lot planned for that particular week and everything got delayed because I was unwell. It was also difficult because when it’s on the face and at such an obvious spot it makes you self conscious as people stir a lot.  It was painful and caused discomfort; at one point my eyes were so swollen I could hardly see out of it. My eyelid were tender and heavy; also it was tingly and itchy. I felt more tired and sad; most of Monday – Thursday all I did was sleep and read a book when I wasn’t waiting at some sort of doctors office. 

Going through this forced me to reflect on why I am so stressed and how I’d let my mental health get so bad. My body usually always shows me with signs like this when everything is not okay. For the most part I am aware when things are tough, I had been crying more recently and anxious so my mood was unstable and my physical body fatigued. But I thought I was still managing. However, I was so stressed it trigged the virus which showed I was not coping.

I spent the last few days trying to realign my priorities and handle the things that are weighing me down emotional. I also need to a way to release stress about the things that’s I can’t get rid of or that is difficult but requires me to push through. While my eye was swollen I could not look at screens much, so I spent a less time on my phone and I didn’t even use my laptop to watch any shows for 3 days. Instead I read books, as I could at least bring it close to my face and not strain in pain, so it was cool to be able to get through my books.

The main reason why I am sharing this video is to remind people to look after themselves and do what they need to do to stay healthy.

Thank you so much for listening to my experience. If you found this video informative, remember to like, comment, subscribe ringing the notification bell.