>So eye infections...is this normal that an eye infection >would keep coming back? Is an eye infection in the >eyeball or behind it or in the surronding tissue? Can a >doctor look in the eyeball and see the infection? Or do >they just assume if the symptons are gone, the infection is >gone? > > > Depending on how deep the infection is, it may come back again. Eyes are apparently a pain to treat because the immune system does some funky things in that area. Eye infection is a pretty broad term....it could be the conjunctiva, it could be the cornea, it could be the eyelid. Eyes have lots of bits. As someone said before, eye infections, if they get far enough along, can be seen. I'm guessing here, but I bet that Steve has some kind of inflammation and discharge that are more reliable signs of what is going on. As for the last question, many, many, many infections are asymptomatic for a while. It's not until the bacteria build up to larger numbers that the infection becomes sypmtomatic. What 'larger' numbers are depends on the site of the infection. >I remember but cannot find the posting that Steve said >there was a danger he could lose the eye and that >there was a danger of the infection going into the >brain. > > > This is always a danger with eye infections. It's possible it didn't start out as an eye infection, but maybe moved in from the sinus area. Bacteria (and I'm assuming this is a bacterial infection) are suprisingly sneaky little buggers as to where they can get to, once they get in. >"For about nine months now he has been dealing with an on >again, off again eye infection. For the second time doctors >have admitted him to a local hospital for course of IV >anti-biotics." > > > When an infection gets to the point where it needs IV antbiotics, it's very not good. It means that the infection is problematic enough that the time it takes oral antibiotics to be absorbed in the stomach/GI tract and worked out into the body is too long and they really need to get them in NOW. Then again, the eye is a funky place and it's sometimes hard to get medication there when it has to work through the body. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am a Medical Technologist / Clinical Lab Science student (only 48 more days to go!!) I don't see patients and I'm not supposed to diagnose. I work on the hospital clinical end, in the lab. Corwin or anyone else, if you have questions about what might be going on, I may be able to give you a better idea of what's happening and what test results mean. You are welcome to talk to me on or off list. Please god tell me the words they used to describe the infection were not MRSA. Best hopes for the convalescing. Simbelmyne