Amy Navejas's Patient Story
A Woman's Mission For The Right Diagnosis A
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, while visiting family out of state, I began to experience itching and swelling around my left eye. The next afternoon, I went to an Urgent Care for treatment. I was given two shots of steroids and told that it was an allergic reaction to an unknown trigger. The condition continued to deteriorate and swelling continued. Two days later, I was at the Urgent Care when they opened at 10 am. I saw a different physician and was prescribed oral steroids, an antihistimine and Zantac, and again told that it was "definitely an allergic reaction". The condition continued to worsen, getting more red and swollen. I was also experiencing itching in other areas such as the chest. Later that day, I drove back home to North Carolina (with only one good eye) and left voicemails for my primary care provider and opthamologists. The next morning, after 5 days of worsening symptoms, I went to my primary care doctor's office to wait to be seen. I was seen that morning and diagnosed with periorbital cellulitis. I was prescribed antibiotics and told that, if the condition did not begin to improve, hospitalization would be necessary as the infection could quickly spread inward toward the brain. Thankfully, the third diagnosis was accurate, and the antibiotics began to clear up the cellulitis quickly. Many medical conditions can manifest symptoms of multiple diagnosis, so it is important that you follow up and continue to seek care if you are not improving or are not convinced that the diagnosis is accurate!