Redness, Swelling And Itching In Left Eye. Which Eye Drop Would Be Safe To Use During Pregnancy?

Posted on Sat, 2 Nov 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 2 Nov 2013 Answered on

Mon, 25 Nov 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I am 10 weeks pregnant. For the past two days, I have developed mild redness, swelling and itching in my left eye. In the morning, I woke up with a shut eye and for next few minutes, my vision was slightly blurred. Looks like a mild cold. But I am not sure if I can take any eye drop as a precaution. Which eye drop would be safe to use during pregnancy? Please suggest.

Answered by Dr. Dadapeer K (25 hours later)

Brief Answer: Erythromycin is safe during pregnancy. Detailed Answer: Hello, Welcome to Health Care Magic. It seems from the history that you are having mild redness, swelling and itching associated with cold. It is common to have conjunctivitis associated with cold. As a precaution to prevent secondary bacterial infection you can use antibiotic eye drops. As you are pregnant and in first trimester of pregnancy many of the antibiotics are contraindicated even for use as eye drops and should be better avoided because of risk of damage to the fetus or baby. Erythromycin is safe during pregnancy and it is available as eye ointment form and it can be used safely for your eye condition. You can use it 3 to 4 times per day still your symptoms related to the eyes come down. Penicillin and similar drugs are safe in pregnancy but since you have quoted that you are allergic to penicillin, it is better to avoid them. Commonly available antibiotic eye drops containing ciprofloxacin , gentamycin should be avoided during pregnancy because of risk of damage to fetus or baby. Please do consult your doctor and take these preparations as per the advice of your doctor. Since you are also complaining of blurred vision in left eye you need examination of the eyes by ophthalmologist once to find out the underlying cause and treatment accordingly. Hope I have answered your query. Thank you

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar