Eye infection?

[frappucino]

Hi,

I showed a pimple on my eyelid to my family doctor and I was worried if I had rubbed herpes into my eye.  My doctor said it didn't look like herpes but she said my eye was a bit red so she prescribed tobramycin 2 drops 4 times a day for 7 days.  My eye is only a little red though and I think it is always a little red.  My mom says not to use the drops because my she says my eye does not look red and not to complicate things by adding drops.  Should I use the drops, and if I do do I have to use them for 7 days or just until the eye stops being red?

Thanks!

[frappucino]

Hi Doctor, actually I have not started using the antibiotics drops at all yet.  I was wondering if I should start them at all.  I don't have any eye pain, light sensitivity, or decreased vision.

Thanks

[Doreen Fazio, M.D.]

Finish the 7-day course of the Tobramycin.  It is never a good idea to stop antibiotics before the full treatment; this is how antibiotic resistance develops.  White mucus is not always a sign of infection.  Our eyes normally produce mucus to lubricate the eye surface.  Redness may be serious of minor.  Redness accompanied by eye pain, light sensitivity, or decreased vision should be evaluated by an ophthalmologist as soon as possible.

[frappucino]

Also every day when I get up in the morning I have a little white discharge on the inside edge of both eyes, and I have always been like this.  But if this is a sign of infection why did the doctor only prescribe for the right eye?  Is it dangerous to have redness in the eye?