eye virus

[mazzywoo]

Hi all. Can anyone tell me whether the herpes simples virus in the eye is contagious? I have been diagnosed with this nasty thing (painful or what!) and obviously I don't want to pass it on to anyone else. I should of course, have asked the doc at the hospital but when you're stressed, its not easy to remember everything! I'd be grateful to hear from anyone about this.
Many thanks, Maz

[gelda]

Yes I think it is, I had it about 10 years ago and was told by the doctor not to share flannels or towels with anyone. I think it's contagious but not infectious. HTH

[funnygirl]

I have not heard of this before!!

Sounds painful!

[mazzywoo]

Thanks Gelda-I was worried that this may be the case. I shall be extra careful with towels etc! Many thanks x

[mazzywoo]

Hi Funnygirl. Apparently it's caused by the same virus as a cold sore. It starts with a red and itchy eye then you get very sensitive to light, which is nasty. Theres usually a surface ulcer on the eye and the docs can look inside (using a really bright light - ouch!) and see the viral activity. It's treated (in my case) by 4 different drops which all go in at different times of day - YUK! One of the drops will need to be used for a couple of months or the virus might recur. The pressure inside my eye went sky high which was really scary! Yep, it's a nasty old bug but fortunately, mine is now on the mend. xx

[Jackson74]

Yes it is, very contagious! I have the same herpes simplex and managed to get a cold-sore on my eyeball about 15 years ago, which had me in agony for 4 months, staying out of bright light as eye would water, not focus properly due to sore in front of pupil, and had to stay away from school and not share anything. Pillows had to be changed every day after sleep and I was not allowed to stroke any pets. If I touched my eye, I had to wash my hands before and after. Treatment might be better now, but I had to have numerous drops/dyes in it, but mine was an extreme case. I have scar tissue (microscopic) on my lens which can only be removed by laser treatment. I did manage to get prescribed Zovirax for free for 5 years though, which was the only bonus. If you want any more info, let me know as I remember everything as if it were yesterday!

[fine,thanks]

herpes simplex in any part of the body is highly contacious, its the desert island for you im afraid for 6 months.lol