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How Is Staph Infection Prevented In The Eye ?
Posted on
Tue, 7 Jun 2011
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Tue, 7 Jun 2011
Answered on
Last reviewed on
Question : I had a friend who has a large red bump on her leg. She has had a staph infection before. In fact she went to the ER tonight and they said the other one was an absess and they cut and drained it. They gave her bactrium. The other bump she was messing with tonight and I was sitting beside her. She popped it and when she did....the puss squirt into the very corner of my left eye. I went and flushed my eye with water for 1 minute and then washed my outer part of the eye with soap and water. Then I ran about a half of bottle of visine in my eye. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO...just in case it was staph? how do I prevent it from growing in my eye....Is there anything I can do to make sure it doesnt pop up if this bump is staph?
Hi,
Thanks for writing to us.
The small part of infected pus which accidentally went into your eye is less likely to produce any infection since you thoroughly washed your eye with clean water and if its pus then it would not infect as pus do not contain any micro organisms. Its the debris of the infected death cells.
This is the one best thing to avoid all infections- Wash with soap and water.
The normal secretions of our eyes- tears-also do act as a barrier to prevent the infection.
So, it is usually difficult to get infected just by a momentary contact with an infected material.
If still it is bothering you, you can prophylactically apply broad spectrum antibiotic eye drops which are available over the counter like ciprofloxacin eye drops every four hourly for 3 days. This will further prevent the growth of any organism.
If you develop any symptoms like blurring of vision, discharge from the eye, excessive watering or red congestion, then it would be ideal to see an Ophthalmologist as it would require a course of antibiotics.
I hope this information has been both informative and helpful for you. If there are additional concerns, I am available for your followups.
Regards.
Thanks for writing to us.
The small part of infected pus which accidentally went into your eye is less likely to produce any infection since you thoroughly washed your eye with clean water and if its pus then it would not infect as pus do not contain any micro organisms. Its the debris of the infected death cells.
This is the one best thing to avoid all infections- Wash with soap and water.
The normal secretions of our eyes- tears-also do act as a barrier to prevent the infection.
So, it is usually difficult to get infected just by a momentary contact with an infected material.
If still it is bothering you, you can prophylactically apply broad spectrum antibiotic eye drops which are available over the counter like ciprofloxacin eye drops every four hourly for 3 days. This will further prevent the growth of any organism.
If you develop any symptoms like blurring of vision, discharge from the eye, excessive watering or red congestion, then it would be ideal to see an Ophthalmologist as it would require a course of antibiotics.
I hope this information has been both informative and helpful for you. If there are additional concerns, I am available for your followups.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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