Eye infection
 

I'm pretty sure that I have conjunctivitis (fun stuff) - have all the apparent symptoms; red eyes, discharge (sorry to be gross), watery, itchy/sore etc.
I was just wondering, if I already have Optrex eye drops, is there any need at all to go to the drs?
And also, is there any way I can alleviate the itching/soreness aside from the eye drops, because I can taste the chemicals in my mouth when I use them which is rather horrid.
Thanks x

Optrex must be a UK brand because I have no idea what it is, so I will let Animad answer that part.

Some people find that a warm compress on the eye helps with the irritation. The biggest thing is to make sure that you don't spread the infection to both eyes on accident, so wash your hands often and don't touch your infected eye unless you absolutely need to.

If you have any vision problems like fuzzy vision, or everything is blury, or you see weird colors you need to go to the doctor to make sure that the infection isn't spreading to other parts of the eye.

It depends what sort of Optrex you're using. If you're using the anti-biotic eye drops that is fine but if you're using the eye washes then they won't do the job. If you're symptoms don't start to alleviate within the next couple of days then you should go to see your doctor to see what they can recommend/ so they can look in your eye to check the inside of it/ check for ulcers which can need more intense treatment.

As Aidey says above you must make sure that you DON'T spread it from one eye to the other and this can be easily done with your fingers or as simple as drying your face if you're not careful how you do it.

Plus, if you have contact lenses it is probably best to wear glasses for the meantime as this increases the chances of spread of the infection and they can temporarily worsen the problem

I have had conjunctivitis or however its spelt several times. I found that if I used anything not prescribed my the doctor it didn't clear up properly and I often got other complications like styes. I would suggest going to the doctor if you can. Just make sure you don't spread it. This is not touching one eye after youve touched the infected. Things like towels don't use a family towel try and dry your eyes with tissue or something similar so you can throw them out. Its a pain in the bum but once you start treating it usually goes away quickly

Unfortunately I already have it in both eyes :/ It's been driving me insane today, so I think my mum's booking a doctors appointment in the morning.
It is the antibiotic Optrex stuff that I've been using all day, so I'm not too sure why it hasn't worked, but hopefully the dr will be able to sort it out.
Thanks for all the help! x

It does take more than a day to work but yeah, going to see a doctor is probably a good idea.

Just though I'd say my mum ended up booking a dr's appointment just because they'd got a lot worse - turns out it's allergic conjunctivitis, so they prescribed a different type of eye drops and there's a massive improvement already :)
Thanks for all the help though, appreciated xxx