Eye Infections on Allure

[bklynangel]

Just want to give everyone a warning that there are so many diseases you can get on a ship and how important it is to wash your hands, but sometimes it dont help anyway.

I have been on 12 cruises and this is the first time this happened to me.

After being on the allure of the seas during hurricane Irene, my husband developed eye infections (from 3 D glasses or hot tubs) After a few days, i got it too. My eyes are so bad for the past three weeks, i lost some of my vision. I have never had anything like this before. My eyes were blood red and actually bleeding at night. They were swollen shut. My husband still has some effects from this infection. Im wondering how many people have boarded the ship knowing they had this infection and were going to spread it to other people? I am very pissed off cause my sailing was august 21 and i still have the problem. It feels like someone threw acid in my eyes. I used the sanitizer all the time so now they are saying its from the hot tubs or pool. I am just writting to let everyone know to be careful cause this is not a fun thing to have. Maybe no one else would talk about it, but im not afraid to warn others of this terrible infection. And another thing...the hospital staff is limited on the ship and husband didnt get to see a dr until we got off the ship and by that time, i already got it. My dr said its highly contagious.

[setsail]

Did your doctor have a name for this? Sounds like some form of pink eye. Hope you get well soon and keep us posted.

[bklynangel]

Did your doctor have a name for this? Sounds like some form of pink eye. Hope you get well soon and keep us posted.

 

 

yes, he called it epidemic kertosiscongutivitus ...oops cant spell it and he said me and my husband both got it from the ship...either 3 d glasses or hot tub or pool since we constantly sanitized. Thanks for your response.

[Tetra]

Yep, that's Epidemic Keratoconjunctivitis. Essentially, pink eye, caused by an adenovirus.

 

Sorry you had to go through that. There's a wide variance in symptoms, a fellow cruiser could have had it with barely any symptoms and had no idea they were bringing anything infectious on board.

[bklynangel]

Yep, that's Epidemic Keratoconjunctivitis. Essentially, pink eye, caused by an adenovirus.

 

Sorry you had to go through that. There's a wide variance in symptoms, a fellow cruiser could have had it with barely any symptoms and had no idea they were bringing anything infectious on board.

 

 

i never had this in my life...do you know anything else about it. Whats the edenovirus? I had no symptoms of a virus....im still recovering and using meds.

[Hoosiermama]

I picked up the same problem last month after visiting a casino and playing the slots. I'm very cautious about washing my hands, especially after playing the slots, but I know I probably rubbed my eye at some point.

 

I had the same swollen, blood red, itchy painful ugly eye too. It's still a little red on the bottom lid, and the top eyelid still droops a bit. Thank goodness for sunglasses! My husband didn't catch it, thankfully.

 

When we cruise in Dec., I'll try to be extremely vigilant, but like you said, it's almost impossible to avoid if it's around. So sorry to hear that you went through the same thing!

[kathyemma]

My brother got that in Fiji. He didn't know he had it until on the plane and his eye was watery. He wiped his eye - it wasn't water, it was blood. gross. It took a long time to clear up. So sorry you have it. It is awful. I am VERY careful with my eyes. I have had glaucoma since I was a teenager. So I try my best to never touch my eyes or let anything touch them. My mother, who also has glaucoma, was blind for 6 months due to a bad case of pink eye.

 

Hope you get better soon. Thanks for the warning!

[Jerseyboy1]

OP sorry to hear about your situation. Even though it cuts down on the fun factor, my wife and I never use the pools or the hot tubs on the ships. Too many germs in that human stew. I guess now we will have to pack our own 3D glasses. Thanks for the heads-up and hope you feel better soon.

[NorbertsNiece]

I hope you both make a full recovery. Really appreciate the heads up.

[bklynangel]

My brother got that in Fiji. He didn't know he had it until on the plane and his eye was watery. He wiped his eye - it wasn't water, it was blood. gross. It took a long time to clear up. So sorry you have it. It is awful. I am VERY careful with my eyes. I have had glaucoma since I was a teenager. So I try my best to never touch my eyes or let anything touch them. My mother, who also has glaucoma, was blind for 6 months due to a bad case of pink eye.

 

Hope you get better soon. Thanks for the warning!

 

 

 

Thank you everyone for writting back to me and wishing me well. I was just reading that kids get it alot. Im going on three weeks with this...does it ever go away? How long does it last? I have a coating on my eye now that wont go away and it was trying to heal and made scar tissue and i had to have minor surgery on my eye to remove some of the membranes...its a pretty serious thing........

[bklynangel]

OP sorry to hear about your situation. Even though it cuts down on the fun factor, my wife and I never use the pools or the hot tubs on the ships. Too many germs in that human stew. I guess now we will have to pack our own 3D glasses. Thanks for the heads-up and hope you feel better soon.

 

 

wow, you live only a few miles from me and yes, get your own glasses cause they really think it was from them and its a kids virus so it probably was from them. I wrote to royal caribbean and let them know about how the glasses were not wrapped and just hanging on shelf where everyone can touch them. this is the pits and i wouldnt want anyone to suffer the way im suffering

[Hoosiermama]

Thank you everyone for writting back to me and wishing me well. I was just reading that kids get it alot. Im going on three weeks with this...does it ever go away? How long does it last? I have a coating on my eye now that wont go away and it was trying to heal and made scar tissue and i had to have minor surgery on my eye to remove some of the membranes...its a pretty serious thing........

 

It's been nearly a month for me, and my vision is good, with no damage in that area, but like I said, I still have a small amount of red on my lid, and my upper lid droops a bit. My doctor says it will have a slight droop unless I fix it. Lovely huh?

 

Wow, sorry about the surgery! It can be such a scary thing, and gawd, I was so ugly! I don't want to deal with this again!

[Tetra]

i never had this in my life...do you know anything else about it. Whats the edenovirus? I had no symptoms of a virus....im still recovering and using meds.

 

Well, you did have symptoms of a virus.....a viral eye infection. The symptoms of a viral infection depend on the part/parts of the body that are affected. You get a viral pneumonia, you have a cough and chest congestion. You have a gastrointestinal infection, you get nauseated, and so on.

 

Adenoviruses are just one particular family of viruses.....the various subtypes cause all sorts of things from respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, conjunctivitis like you have, bladder infections....you name it.

[bklynangel]

It's been nearly a month for me, and my vision is good, with no damage in that area, but like I said, I still have a small amount of red on my lid, and my upper lid droops a bit. My doctor says it will have a slight droop unless I fix it. Lovely huh?

 

Wow, sorry about the surgery! It can be such a scary thing, and gawd, I was so ugly! I don't want to deal with this again!

 

 

Sorry your going threw this too and you have it a week longer than me. I still have redness and loss of vision which is scaring me since its three weeks ago. I keep feeling like i have a fever too. I looked ugly too but im not an ugly person...how can they fix the droopy eye your having and is that going to go away...i look like garfield the cat now. When i first had it the first week, everyone thought someone hit me in the face. Its a bad thing...do you think you can get reinfected over and over again...hope not!!!

[Hoosiermama]

Sorry your going threw this too and you have it a week longer than me. I still have redness and loss of vision which is scaring me since its three weeks ago. I keep feeling like i have a fever too. I looked ugly too but im not an ugly person...how can they fix the droopy eye your having and is that going to go away...i look like garfield the cat now. When i first had it the first week, everyone thought someone hit me in the face. Its a bad thing...do you think you can get reinfected over and over again...hope not!!!

 

They can pull up the lid and stitch it. I guess it would be similiar to an eye lift vanity thing. The lid has raised considerably, but it's not even with my other eye. I don't know how old you are, but I'm in my late 50's, and I'm sure gravity isn't helping.

 

Yes, you can get it again. I had the same thing happen years ago. I hardly ever catch anything, but I manage to get the weird things.

[Mark_K]

Just want to give everyone a warning that there are so many diseases you can get on a ship and how important it is to wash your hands, but sometimes it dont help anyway.

I have been on 12 cruises and this is the first time this happened to me.

After being on the allure of the seas during hurricane Irene, my husband developed eye infections (from 3 D glasses or hot tubs) After a few days, i got it too. My eyes are so bad for the past three weeks, i lost some of my vision. I have never had anything like this before. My eyes were blood red and actually bleeding at night. They were swollen shut. My husband still has some effects from this infection. Im wondering how many people have boarded the ship knowing they had this infection and were going to spread it to other people? I am very pissed off cause my sailing was august 21 and i still have the problem. It feels like someone threw acid in my eyes. I used the sanitizer all the time so now they are saying its from the hot tubs or pool. I am just writting to let everyone know to be careful cause this is not a fun thing to have. Maybe no one else would talk about it, but im not afraid to warn others of this terrible infection. And another thing...the hospital staff is limited on the ship and husband didnt get to see a dr until we got off the ship and by that time, i already got it. My dr said its highly contagious.

The most common means of contracting conjunctivitis is by getting the it on your hands and then touching your eyes. There are hundreds of places it could have come from other than 3d glasses or a hot tub, many of them not even on the ship. (which would seem likely if you two are the only ones you know of that got it).

[waterbug123]

The most common means of contracting conjunctivitis is by getting the it on your hands and then touching your eyes. There are hundreds of places it could have come from other than 3d glasses or a hot tub, many of them not even on the ship. (which would seem likely if you two are the only ones you know of that got it).

 

I was going to mention that. Conjunctivitis IS common with kids, and since they aren't routinely in hot tubs or wearing 3D glasses (unless they're on a cruise!), it's more commonly spread by an infected person touching their eyes, then touching something else, and then another person touching that same object (stair rail, arm rest, door knob, whatever) and then touching their own eyes. It's very possible that either the OP actually got it from her husband or vice versa.

[Wilda]

I've got pink eye right now...and I haven't been anywhere near a ship:(

 

Eye was scratchy and icky when I woke up in the morning. Doctor put me on drops a week ago, no contacts, and strict hand washing.

 

As for how I got it; it's anybodys guess! Could of been the grocery cart, the railing at work, the elevator button. Someone somewhere was infected and contagious and I picked it up. It spreads like wildfire. There is no way of knowing where you got it onboard the ship...hope you clear up soon.

[Hoosiermama]

I was going to mention that. Conjunctivitis IS common with kids, and since they aren't routinely in hot tubs or wearing 3D glasses (unless they're on a cruise!), it's more commonly spread by an infected person touching their eyes, then touching something else, and then another person touching that same object (stair rail, arm rest, door knob, whatever) and then touching their own eyes. It's very possible that either the OP actually got it from her husband or vice versa.

 

My doctor agrees with you, you can get it any place. As far as me thinking it was the casino slots that gave me a problem (land based casino), he says he has seen a number of these eye issues after the patient visited a casino.

 

I'm just going to be cautious everywhere now, because this problem was no fun!

[vaeyedoc]

What you are describing is probably either filamentary conjunctivitis or acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis. Both can cause scarring on the surface of your eye (cornea) and require a simple procedure to remove the scar tissue. Fortunately, very seldom does this cause permanent vision loss and even then can be corrected by a corneal transplant. Not fun but not the end of a visual world either...hang in there and do everything your physician recommends. There are many types of viruses and bacteria that can cause conjunctivitis. Almost all are transmitted the same way a cold is transmitted (i.e. direct or inderect contact: touching a doorknob etc.). Typically, you carry this virus 7-10 days before you even know you are infected so it is possible the person responsible didn't even know they had it. BTW, throw away all of your face and eye make-up and brushes - they are now infected as well.

 

And yes, I am an eye doctor! :)

[bklynangel]

What you are describing is probably either filamentary conjunctivitis or acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis. Both can cause scarring on the surface of your eye (cornea) and require a simple procedure to remove the scar tissue. Fortunately, very seldom does this cause permanent vision loss and even then can be corrected by a corneal transplant. Not fun but not the end of a visual world either...hang in there and do everything your physician recommends. There are many types of viruses and bacteria that can cause conjunctivitis. Almost all are transmitted the same way a cold is transmitted (i.e. direct or inderect contact: touching a doorknob etc.). Typically, you carry this virus 7-10 days before you even know you are infected so it is possible the person responsible didn't even know they had it. BTW, throw away all of your face and eye make-up and brushes - they are now infected as well.

 

And yes, I am an eye doctor! :)

 

 

 

thanks for your response....I threw my eye makeups away days ago...i hardly wear any make up anyway, just on special occassions. Wow, i didnt know you can carry the virus a week before you even show signs. My husband got it the fourth day on the cruise, but we were on amtrak 7 days before that so it could be he caught it there too ,but most likely on the cruise anyway, thats when i got it, when i got off the cruise. How come my husband recovered so fast and hes diabetic and im in my third week of having this? I had gone to the ER three times and they kept changing my meds till finally i had to go to Wills eye hospital in Philly.Tomorrow i have a follow up. I dont want a cornea transplant...i have too many other medical stuff going on.

Im 53 years old, so i guess gravity is going to catch up with me too...i dont see any abnormal shape of my eye lid cause i did have a minor surgery to remove some scaring from this virus. I forgot my sun glasses today when i was driving and couldnt see. Im hoping this will go away soon and that i will never get it back again .

[vaeyedoc]

There are alot of reasons why it is not responding as quickly as you would like. It is even possible that you and your husband had different strains. I have seen before where one person responds to treatment quickly and someone else doesn't and there isn't a good explanation for that. Fortunately, the physicians at Wills are topnotch and they will provide the best care possible - without doubt. I actually was there in April on a visit. They do a great job! I wish you well and hope the remainder of your recovery is quick.

[baggal]

Unless a hot tub is disinfected everytime someone leaves the tub - its just a breeding ground for hundreds of germs that cause some pretty icky stuff. I never use a hot tub - even at a friend's house. My husband used to laugh at me until he picked up a bad case of plantar warts from a hot tub that took months to treat.

 

Enter at your own risk!

[bajathree]

My wife has had this a couple times...not related to cruising....you can get it from just about anywhere. I am just curious...I know right now you are blaming it as ship related.....but did't you get off at ports:confused:it could have easily of happened anywhere there also.

[Jimbo]

How would you even know where you catched it from? You could have had the infection it even before you were near the ship, heck you could have picked up the infection at your local McDonalds in Brownsmills, living near the base those kind of places come in contact with tons of people from all over the world. No one would really ever know where or how they got it.

 

Jimbo:)