Red eyes

The whites of my eyes have been red/irritated for more than a month now. At first, it was just the inner corner of my left eye, and when I went to see a GP, she said it was just a corneal abrasion and prescribed antibiotic eyedrops. After finishing the eyedrops, there has been no obvious improvement, and there is now redness in the outer corners of both eyes (there is less redness in the inner corner of my left eye). I'm not sure whether this can be attributed to the beginning of hayfever (since I've only been in melbourne for 2 years) or something more serious. There has been no pain or worsening in vision, only a slight itchiness every now and then, and the intensity of the redness varies with different timings of a day. I'm quite concerned about it, but I don't know whether I should wait and see whether the redness subsides when I go to another country next week (to see whether it's because of hayfever) or go consult a specialist. Everyone around me seems to think it's nothing serious, yet I don't feel reassured in any way. Could anyone please give me advice and also share any similar experiences? Thanks!

Also, if it helps, I suffered from an eye infection (which was most obvious in my right eye) just before the redness started. Could that have anything to do with the redness in both eyes?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

There are literally scores and scores of causes for red eyes. You will need to see an Eye MD ophthalmologist. Have your GP refer you to one or call one directly.

JCH MD