Tuesday, March 2, 2010

eye infection

Question
is it possible to get a yeast infestion in your eye?  can an optometrist tell if it is a yeast infection?  if so could it be possible for the yeast infection to pass to your vagina and also have it the eyes my 7 year old has been battling this for 2 months with her eyes and antibiotics seem to help when she was on them now the red and itching eyes are bothering her again


Answer
Dear Penney,



No. Candida Albicans is the common yeast infection in the vagina, which also is there in the birth passage.



However, this does not affect the baby at birth, at the most in severest cases lead to oral thrush and not anything in the eyes.



Newborn infants can be affected by bacterial infections (like gonorrhea) that can cause serious eye damage and chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis), which can be passed from mother to child during birth. There are viruses that cause genital and oral herpes which also cause neonatal conjunctivitis and severe eye damage.



Any other fungal infection is an independent event and needs to be evlauated.



If she is getting repeated eye infection or allergies, the source needs to be determined with a step wise plan which may involve her pediatrician and eye doctor.



Regarding the diagnosis, it can be done by any good medical professional, so am unable to comment on the expertise of the optometrist you visited.



Hope this helps,



Dr Shroff



www.shroffeye.org