A boy was forced to spend his Christmas in a hospital after having a swollen eye due to Covid’s allergic reaction.
Zac Morey, 9, was placed on an IV drip at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children after his eye became severely swollen following an infection.
Angela Morey, 37, Zac’s mom, wants to raise awareness of the unusual effect of the virus, and pay tribute to the NHS staff who looked after him and made him feel special during his three-day stay.
She told Bristol Live: “I’ve not seen anything like it before. They (the doctors) said it’s an allergic reaction to the virus, and that it’s really rare and happens mostly with children. It’s a rare complication of Covid.”
Zac and his five other family members tested positive for covid days before Christmas, but only had mild symptoms. Despite the whole family resigning themselves to a quiet Christmas in isolation following their diagnoses, the rules on quarantining changed suddenly, meaning they would be out in time for Christmas.
However, Zac complained to his mom, that he didn’t have any cough or temperature, but continued to suffer from a sore eye. Angela said: “Suddenly Christmas was back in the bag and we were allowed out again – then Zac said he had a bit of a sore eye.”
After a remote consultation with his GP, they were referred to Bristol Eye Hospital, where doctors prescribed antibiotics and urged them to return if it did not get better.
On Christmas Eve after no improvement, they went back and were then referred to A&E at the children’s hospital. Zac was admitted to the Caterpillar ward and diagnosed with “periorbital cellulitis”, which is an infection of the eyelid or skin around the eye.
The unusual Covid-19 complication hasn’t been widely reported on, despite experts estimating between 1-3% of coronavirus sufferers experience symptoms impacting their eyes.
Zac has since been released from hospital after a course of antibiotics, and Angela was gushing with praise for the medics who worked on her son.point 396 |
Angela said Zac wasn’t in pain and although she was not able to stay overnight due to coronavirus rules, having only recently had the virus, she was allowed daytime visits while the nurses spoilt him in the meantime.point 185 | 1
On Christmas morning, worried that he would wake up without any presents, Angela rushed to the hospital packed with some gifts. But she found him on his bed surrounded by treats donated by the hospital’s charity the Grand Appeal.
Angela said: “They’d decorated and given him pajamas and Lego and he could just chill out watching films on the telly. One of the nurses took him to the window in a chair with his drip to see out the window.”
“I think he actually found it quite interesting, being in hospital for the first time – he wasn’t scared at all, he was just intrigued by it all. His eye is almost back to normal now and we’ve finally had our “Christmas Day” all together,” she added.
Medics considered operating on Zac to drain fluid from his eye, but by Boxing Day the antibiotics had started to work and the swelling had reduced and he was discharged that day with more medicine to take at home.
In a tweet thanking hospital staff, Angela said they were “absolute heroes” who offered “exemplary care” as they worked over Christmas. Since her son’s release, she has been back to the hospital to give staff presents as a thank you.
Angela now wants to raise awareness of the medical condition, as it could potentially have developed into something more serious or might not have been identified as Covid-related if Zac hadn’t done a positive test.
Earlier this year a study about eye-related Covid symptoms found that patients infected with Covid can present with acute conjunctivitis symptoms. This can include eye redness, ocular irritation, soreness, foreign body sensation, tearing, discharge, eyelid swelling, congestion, and chemosis.”
Specsavers also issued a warning about the medical rarity on its website, writing: “Conjunctivitis associated with Covid-19 tends to occur in the later stages of the disease, alongside more common symptoms such as a continuous cough and fever.”
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