I have pink eye. It's painful. It's annoying. And quite contagious.

[CatWoman]

I did a google, and it seems this crud is affecting people everywhere!!

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3fc2c475-1cce-4e00-a6e2-0bf5be86e931

http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1025750

http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=73157

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=64427

[VP505]

1. Just keep

your eyes closed when posting that way you won't pass it on in here! BTW, I have never had it but know some peeps that have and I feel for ya, hope you get well soon and don't suffer too much.

[CatWoman]

13. did you take your username from the Virginian Pilot?

:hi:

[VP505]

53. Nope

:-)

[zabet]

2. It is very easy to spread.

It seems like the elementary schools in our county
periodically have bouts of pink eye going around.
A friend of mine whose son is 11, says he has had it
for the past 3 years. Each time shortly after the
start of the new school year in the fall.

[racaulk]

3. Ugh! Pinkeye is AWFUL!

I know from first-hand experience that pinkeye is the pits. Just make sure you wash you hands. All. The. Time.

I hope you are better soon, CW! :hi:

[CatWoman]

14. if I wash them any more, they are gonna turn raw!!

:hi:

[Warpy]

4. I had it a few times when I was a kid

and I remember stinging, itching, and having to wear dark glasses everywhere, probably to keep me from touching my eyes and spreading it to other kids. I also remember having to feel my way into the bathroom and using a hot, wet washcloth to soak my eyes open in the morning. Gross!

Just wash your hands frequently. Please. Buy a box of latex gloves and put one on when you have to touch your eyes. Pinkeye is ridiculously contagious.

[CatWoman]

15. I have to wear dark glasses, in addition to an eye patch

if I hear one more fucking pirate joke, :nuke:

[DearAbby]

30. Give me an RRRRRRRRRRRrrrrg!

I couldnt help it, really....there was someone clicking the reply button....it wasn't me really! :evilgrin:

[CatWoman]

33. asshole!!!

:)

[DearAbby]

55. 'ere have some grog!

:toast:

[CottonBear]

37. Hey! KFed has pinkeye and an eyepatch too!

:hi: I'll see you at the Graveyard!

edit: We'll have to put you in a pinkeye isolation zone when we meetup! ;)

[CatWoman]

41. hahahahahaha

:hi:

[cuke]

5. I had it many times as a child

You have my sympathies. Try to not touch it, and wash everything often.

Even better. Go to a local repuke bar and spread the fun around

[flashl]

6. Get well SOON. n/t

:hi:

[MorningGlow]

7. Deepest, deepest sympathies, CatWoman

I had it in college and it was nasty. DH got it this past spring and I've never seen such a severe case--he had it in both eyes and looked like something out of a zombie movie. Gave it to me and MG Jr. (I touched his eyes before I tweaked to what it was--dummy me), but we were braced for it and got rid of it quickly with the leftover salve the emergency walk-in clinic gave him.

[Lance_Boyle]

8. oh hell

Worcestershire sauce in the embalming fluid AGAIN?!?

[wicket]

9. Its VERY easy to spread

At my old job a few years back, one of the guys in the mail room got it & before he knew he had it he had done his mail rounds around the entire firm. SO many people got it.

[Parche]

10. Pink Eye

Get well soon My Dear Catwoman.......:hi: :hi:


OH MEOW

[CatWoman]

16. awwwwwwww

Parche's post always make me feel better :)

:hi:

[RubyDuby in GA]

11. oh no! Do you think you'll be better by Sunday or do we need to think about

postponing the Sunday DU get together?

'Cause it ain't a DU party unless CatWoman is there!

[CatWoman]

17. I went to the doctor last Wednesday, and she gave me some

eye drops.

She told me it should clear up in 7 - 10 days.

Today is day 6.

It is clearing up slowly and surely............

We just may have to postpone.....

[RubyDuby in GA]

47. It's pretty contagious.

And as much as I want Carter to see Auntie CatWoman, I think it might be best to postpone.
Don't want any of the fine Atlanta Area DUers to get the creepy crud :scared:

[CatWoman]

54. thanks Ruby

:loveya:

Will you take the lead on rescheduling?

[RubyDuby in GA]

56. I most certainly will.

Too bad this doesn't come at a more appropriate time - like Halloween. You could have really freaked out a lot of small children! :)


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=146x5051

[monmouth]

12. Make sure you take "ALL" of the medication. Even though it may

appear to have gone away, finish all of the drops. I made that mistake and it was back with a vengance....

[CatWoman]

18. thanks!!!!

how long do you think it will be before I can normally be around people?

[monmouth]

50. You should be okay after all of the drops have been taken and there's

no more discharge. Another week or so, maybe less. Better to be safe than sorry, especially if your weather is warm...

[kstewart33]

19. I had a terrible case of it a few years ago.

It was so bad that it morphed into a virus that lasted two weeks.

Be very careful with it. If it doesn't get immediately better, get prescription eye drops from your doc.

[CatWoman]

20. I'm using the eye drops now

but I have to tell you, stepping out into the sun is a bitch!!!

[mitchtv]

21. Gonna get a pink wig to match, like Brittany?

seriously, I used to get it a lot, then I left NYC, no more. Get well soon.

[Atman]

22. I find it goes away a couple of hours after the last bong hit.

I should own stock in the company that make Similasan eye drops.

BTW, all joking aside...I thought I was getting it earlier this week. You'll at least be heartened to know why...I've adopted four feral kittens, and have been trying to "tame" them. One of them wakes up each morning with one eye glued shut with eye smeg. I thought I caught it from her, but turns out not.

Oh, and the kittens, all but one, have been tamed for the most part. They've been sleeping indoors on the porch lately, and will even sit with me on the chair and watch tv (I don't think they're really watching). Now I have to follow through with my mission...scoop 'em up and bring them to the clinic. $65 each to spay/neuter, mite/vermin check and all their shots. X3. Yikes. What's worse is that I kinda like 'em now, and am seriously considering keeping two of them...but how can I break up the set?

Anyway, sorry to hear about the pink eye. But seriously, Similasan makes a great homeopathic pink eye med, too.

.

[CatWoman]

25. it's great reading about you and the kitties

:loveya:

keep all of them :loveya:

[Atman]

31. Oh, I want to.

One of the four is probably hopeless...still freaks out and runs at the slightest movement or sound. But the others are totally awesome. They have totally different personalities, right down to their meows. The all-white boy kitty is the trouble-maker of the bunch...surprise! A loud, gravelly meow. Then there's the sweetie, a fluffy gray/white poster child, with huge eyes and 100% melt-your-heart adorable. She thinks I'm Mom and stays between my feet all the time. If I stop moving, she flops down on my feet and tries to suckle my toes. Weird, but really funny. The third was actually the first to give in and allow me to hold her. She's got one of those almost silent meows...opens her mouth and just a little squeak comes out.

It would be damned near impossible to choose one over the other at this point. But I really don't want three cats! Or do I? Dammit, I was just trying to do a good deed! Now I'm hooked.

.

[PDJane]

23. Do yourself a favour........

and throw out any eye makeup you have hanging around. Buying new stuff is cheaper. Trust me on this; it's a lesson from bitter experience.

[mondo joe]

24. CatWoman, that is SO middle ages.

:hi:

[CatWoman]

26. let the Inquisition BEGIN!!!

:hi:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mKxnaMeOK20

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. Try hot water.

Just hot tap water, as hot as you can stand it, with a wash cloth on the infected eye, for as long as you can stand it.

It might not work for everybody, but it works for me.

[Atman]

32. My wife told me that.

She's an APRN...when I told her I thought I might have an eye infection she said "soak it in hot water." Huh? How the F do I soak my EYE? But you're right...it's as good a course of action as any, and really seems to help.

.

[CatWoman]

34. i was thinking bornagin was pulling my leg

cause he wants me to look like prof farnsworth :)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

38. No, I'm serious.

I think it works because some bacteria, the kind in pink eye for example, have a very low tolerance to heat. So if you use tap water at, say, 110, 120 degrees or so it effectively pasteurizes the bacteria without hurting your eye. Remember when you were a kid with acne and you'd wash your face with hot water to help? Now sure, maybe pink eye comes in different strains and yours is more heat sensitive, but it couldn't hurt. It's good first aid and it might save you a trip to the doctors.

[CatWoman]

42. k

will try it as soon as I get home

:hi:

[DearAbby]

28. I had this when I was a child

yes it is painful. What I hated was waking up with your eyes sealed shut with the crud. Had to have people bring my hot washclothes just to get them open.

Had to keep everything separated, very contagious. I remember having to use an eye rinse cup for the medication. Blue oval shaped cup. I was very young, must have been 40yrs ago. 1967 I think, I was 12

It lasted about a week, and NO SCHOOL! :-D Get well soon.

[mitchtv]

35. I still got the blue bottle/cup

long empty , but a great eyewasher ( it should be 40 ys old or so)

[knitter4democracy]

29. I'm sorry--that's a nasty bug to get.

My kids still get it once a year or so, and it's all I can do to hold them down for the eye drops. Those suckers sting. It's also when I break out the good hand sanitizer and make everyone carry it around all day.

[NNN0LHI]

36. You poor baby

My heart goes out to you and I wish you a very speedy recovery.

Good luck kiddo.

Don

[Forkboy]

39. Does it look like this?

Ewwwwwwwww.


I hope you feel better soon. :hug:

[StarryNite]

43. Ewww

That makes my eyes water just looking at it!

[CatWoman]

45. damn that 's ugly

:puke:

[Forkboy]

49. You should HEAR the CD.

It's pretty ugly too.Any CD with a song called "Hard Stool" is something to be reckoned with. :D

[moc]

40. Do you wear contact lenses? I experienced an awful bout of

conjunctivitis about 17 years ago. Although I didn't wear my lenses during the infection (of course), I think I probably should have abstained for a while longer. I think the infection altered the shape of my eye for a time period. I ended up with a corneal ulcer that didn't heal for probably 3+ months. (They thought it might be an infectious ulcer but it wasn't, just an abrasive ulcer. At one point, they had to deaden my eye and take a cell sample to check for infection. Yowza! That was VERY painful.)

So, if you are a lens wearer, be cautious about when you resume wearing them.

[CatWoman]

46. thankfully, I don't wear contacts

:hi:

[StarryNite]

44. Don't share towels.

[RiverStone]

48. I had pink eye this summer...

Dr. said I likely got it from a local river.

I learned there are two kinds - viral and bacterial. The former does not require treatment (other then time) the latter requires antibiotic eye drops (and sometimes pills if there is also an ear infection).

I had the bacterial version and what's weird is all my years involved in river sports - windsurfing, kayaking, wake boarding - I've never had pink eye before???

I wonder if global warming is causing bacterial levels to rise in our waterways? Even a small increase in avg. temps (even one half a degree) could cause more yukky things to grow in the water.

:shrug:

Anyway, it went away just fine after about 3-4 days. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!!!

[Snarkturian Clone]

51. Pink Eye scene from Knocked Up

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1AZhhJ-W2nk&mode=related&search=

feel better soon!

[Stephanie]

52. Throw out all of your eye makeup.

Toss everything, eyeliner, mascara, shadow. The bacteria grows in it and will reinfect. And wash all your makeup brushes. Poor baby!

[Skittles]

57. did you get it from Streak?

Streak looks f***ing stoned

[CatWoman]

61. ROFL!!!!!!

Streak is streakier and freakier than she ever was

:hi:

[Swamp Rat]

58. D'oh!

I should have never clicked on this thread. Now I got it too!

:hi: :hug:

[CatWoman]

63. wise ass

:P

[Swamp Rat]

64. I hope you get better soon.

:hug:

[charlie]

59. Ack.

Had it in high school. Horrible, horrible unending, flamey, itchy torment. Looking like you were fresh from your Mom, your dog's, and Jesus's funeral. Waking up with eyes glued shut and having to do the crack-of-dawn thing to get them open. AAAUUUGH!

You have my sympathy. I NEVER want to do that again.

[ulysses]

60. good lord.

Are your allergies not acting up, at least? Take care of yourself. :hug:

[CatWoman]

62. LOLOLOLOL

Mother Nature fucking HATES me :hi:

[grasswire]

65. warm tea bags -- or a trip to the ocean

Some interesting remedies on this site:

http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/viral_conjunctivitis.html


Also, I remember reading that shower biofilm can cause the spread of bacterial conjunctivitis. Shower curtains should be disposed of regularly, apparently. If a shower gets any of that pink biofilm, it's time to get out the bleach!