Optrex Infected Eyes

My daughter was recently sent home from school with itchy pink eyes. Initially we thought she might have hay fever, and as my family are on the 'Pharmacy First' scheme (a scheme that means we can get common household medicines (such as antihistamines, nit lotion, paracetamol) for free after a brief consultation with a chemist, rather than wasting a doctors appointment, we popped straight down to the local chemist.

The chemist had a brief look at her eye and informed us that she had Conjuctivitus - essentially swelling and irritation of the membrane lining of the eyes - and prescribed us Optrex Infected Eyes drops to use on her until the infection went away.

These eye drops containchloramphenicol, which is essentially an antibiotic that will kill off any bacteria, and prevent infection from spreading further. There is an advice leaflet inside the box, which you should of course read for important information about possible side effects, and this recommended starting off the treatment with one drop every two hours, rising to one drop every 4 hours. The treatment should be continued for no more than five days, after which medical advice should be sought if the infection remains, and between uses the drops should be kept cool in the fridge.

My daughter hated using these - and I can't really say her, the idea of putting anything in your eye that doesn't belong there must seem pretty alien for a child. I demonstrated it for her the first time, putting a drop into my own eye, and I found it didn't hurt or sting at all, though the coldness of the refrigerated drops did get me twitching!

However, from the noise and fuss my daughter made having these applied, you'd have thought we were sticking pins in! Getting the right does out was easy, with a tiny squeeze easily dispensing the single drop required. After dropping this into the eye, I had my daughter blink a few times, and shake her head, just to ensure we got good coverage.

Once my daughter stopped fussing, she did comment that her eyes felt less dry, and less uncomfortable to open and close. It took around 8 applications before the itching went away entirely, but it began to calm down after three. The redness did remain for around 4 days, but that was possibly down to my daughter rubbing her eyes - I think had it been an adult being treated,who would be better able to resist rubbing at it, the colour would have faded much sooner.

These drops are easy to use and they work .They have a long shelf life unopened, but once opened must be disposed of at the end of the five days of treatment. It costs £5 for a tiny bottle, which although expensive offers value for money considering the results, though I am glad I didn't need to pay for mine!

Overall, 4 stars! One off for being tricky to administer to a panicked child!