uveitis

My father was prescribed Cortisporin eye drops for conjuntivitis.  In error he was given Cortisporin ear drops. He was not aware of the error and droped the recommened dose in each eye. (2-3 drops per eye) Almost instantly he experienced burning. Having never had conjuntivitis before he thought perhaps this was a normal reaction to the drops. A few weeks had passed he was still in pain so He made an appointment with his eye doctor, who immediatley referred him to a specialist who diagnosed him with Uveitis. Is it possible to get Uvetitis from ear drops being put in your eyes?

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

Yes it is possible and I've seen it a few times.  In this case I am unclear whether he was originally misdiagnosed and really had uveitis all along OR whether the cortisporin ear drops caused the uveitis - which is a possiblity.  By the way I have seen this same error before.  I never used cortisporin since there are much better drops and no risk of getting ear drops by mistake.  They are very irritating to the eye.  I hope father is seeing board-certified ophthalmologist.  Good Luck.

Michael Kutryb,  MD