infant with stye

[sattel]

My son who just turned 1 years old a few weeks ago has had stye like bumps on his eye lids for almost 5 weeks now.  He actually has four, one on each lid and they are pretty close to the lids.  I've been using topical eye ointment and warm compress for many weeks now and they sometimes appear to be getting better, then worse again and have not yet gone away.  Now his lids are pretty swollen and red and I've started giving him oral anitbiotics (Cefprozil) which are prescribed for 10 days.  Do you have any suggestions as to what else can be done?  Is there any way that something like this can affect his vision in the long run?

[sattel]

Thank you for your reply.  I have an appointment on Tuesday with an opthamologist but someone mentioned to me that it may be MRSA, since he's on the second antibiotic and it doesn't seem to be working.  He had an ear infection about 5 weeks ago now and was given antibiotics for that.  That is around the same time that he developed the styes.  Do you think it's possible for it to be MRSA?  Should I be seeing a doctor sooner than Tuesday?  I appreaciate your advice.

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

Dear sattel,

It sounds as if your son has had infections of the eyelids. I would recommend cleaning his eyelids with a warm washcloth twice a day once this infection is resolved to try to prevent its recurrence.  Seek the care of a pediatric eyeMD to check your son’s eyes.

Dr. Feldman

Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California