Corneal ulcer?

Last night I took off my contact lenses to find out I had acquired an eye infection; it is not the first time it happens, I get red eye, bearable pain, sensitivity to the light, and tearing.  It usually takes three or four days to heal, during which I stop using the contact lenses, and I usually start wearing them one or two weeks later, just to be safe.

But this time, I found a cloudy white spot in the cornea of my eye. I left it alone, thinking it was rheum, and went to sleep. I woke up today to find it was still there.

I researched, and browsed through several pictures. The spot resembles quite closely a small corneal ulcer, but I have no pain, light sensibility is normal, and redness is almost gone; I came across the term non-infectious corneal ulcer, but I am not sure.

How should I proceed? Will time cure it? Is it dangerous?

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

Go see an ophthalmologist prior to wearing your contacts again to see what is going on.  If you keep getting problems with contacts, there is something wrong and you may need to switch brands, change your wearing/cleaning habbits, or stop wearing them.  All this should be discussed with your ophthalmologist/eye MD.

HV