I would love to hear from other people here if they have had a similar experience- I have had a recurring irritation in my eye ever since I was in a very smoky environment for a prolonged period of time last year. Apparently the smoke caused a duct to become clogged and it resulted in a painful red bump on the inside of my eyelid. I got a topical antibiotic that cleared it up, but it came back about 6 months later. I am meticulous about washing my hands and making sure I clean my contacts and donāt use them for longer than Iām supposed to, and also about makeup and makeup brushes. The second time my doctor used a horrific looking tool to try and relieve some of the pressure and again gave me ointment to apply. It subsided but came back a short time afterwards. I had noticed that during periods of acute stress, I was susceptible to this problem- I went through a divorce last year, have two kids, and so have obviously been through some challenges. I normally have pretty good energy levels- I am a personal trainer and a runner and my kids are very active with sports so Iām used to going all the time. Iāve been LCHF for over 5 years and eat high quality food and donāt fast for long periods of time due to being quite lean. My inflammation levels- based on triglyceride numbers on my lips panels- are very, very low, usually in the 30ās. So I know that I donāt have a problem with systemic inflammation. However, today I went back to my eye doctor as the flare up on my eyelid has not gotten better, and it affects my ability to see clearly, and to drive and work. He again used that scary tool to relieve the pressure but he also gave me an oral antibiotic because apparently I have been fighting some kind of bacterial infection that is causing this problem fo persist. He agreed that stress can affect the immune systemās ability to fight infection, even if you are otherwise healthy. Heās seen this pattern before and sometimes it takes 6 months of antibiotics to clear everything up. It kind of hit me that if I have indeed been fighting a low level infection, it might be the reason why my energy levels have tanked despite no real changes in my diet or activity level. It seems that by 4 or so in the afternoon, most days Iām just spent, and donāt have the energy to get through the evening bustle of going to my kidsā sports. I just want to lie on the couch and watch bad TV! This didnāt used to be the case though- I could make it through the evening and be alert and interested in chatting with other parents. I suppose I think that because Iām healthy by virtue of having no inflammation from eating LCHF, and being active that I wouldnāt be susceptible to something like a stubborn bacterial infection. Anyone else have something similar happen? Having an infection of which you werenāt aware and a subsequent drop in energy levels? And if so how did you resolve it?
Fatigue, infection, and inflammation
One of the advantages of eating enough saturated fat is having enough cholesterol to help oneās immune system fight off an infection. Itās anecdotal, but I find that my colds last winter were fewer and far less severe. My sister and niece developed pneumonia from one infection (and I probably did too, their doctor thought), but I was not nearly as badly affected as I would have expected. (Usually whatever anyone else gets, I getābut worse!) Except for a couple of days, I was fairly functional, while the rest of them were dragging around for weeks.
@PetaMarie he didnāt use that word specifically, but after an unfortunate google search, I suppose thatās what it would be called- a swelling inside my eyelid. It hurts 
I applied the topical antibiotic that Iād used initially and it didnāt help the last couple of times. So Iām hoping the oral antibiotic will wipe it out, even though I am not a huge fan of taking them. But I am sick of dealing with this you know??
@PaulL I didnāt have a cold or the flu all winter, and I usually stay very healthy. So it came as a surprise that I may have had this for a while and havenāt been aware of it. But Iāve been kind of concerned about my lowered energy levels, and it would make sense if Iāve been fighting an infection. Iām curious to see if being on the meds improves things where thatās concernedā¦
I have a few things to contribute. First thing is that I had a recurrent eye infection when I worked on a farm due to cleaning out the chicken coop (dried chicken poop dust, even with goggles on.) and after a couple of rounds of antibiotic ointment and drops I tried tea bags (steep them, wring them out a bit, lay them on closed eyes. Itās okay if you get tea in your eye.) It worked as an astringent, resolved the inflammation and cleared them up within a day. Now if I feel conjunctivitis or inflammation coming on, I do tea bags over my eyes for 30 minutes at night. It does dry your eyes out a little bit so if youāre suffering from severe dry eye consider that. (I just used Lipton tea bags)
The second thing is that I used to get a cold sore at almost every period time. My doc said it was probably because I had cancer and didnāt know it, so bad immune system. Taking airborne tablets when I was feeling one coming on, if Iām run down or feeling like a cold is coming really helped. I know itās not the same thing but wanted to add that.
Did you get Doxy for your oral antibiotic?
@PetaMarie yes thatās the medication I got. I tried just about everything to clear it up- taking oil of oregano (a natural antibiotic), ginger, applying colloidal silver, and yes tea bags!! But nothing worked. Iām not around anything in particular that I can think would keep irritating my eye like youād mentioned about the chicken coop. I threw out everything I used on my eyes each time this has happened, but the doctor said it wouldnāt have been caused by using something like mascara that Iād used when I had a flare up. So, not like pink eye, which is transferrable through contact. Have you used Doxy before? Did it help? Did you experience side effects?
Because Iām susceptible to staph infections I have doxy on hand at all times. I love the stuff. For me it doesnāt cause diarrhea but I DO take it with food to avoid nausea (but I get a store tummy if I take a vitamin on an empty stomach). It always works really quickly for me, like one day. And for sure take the whole script to get those stubborn buggers.
I wanted to add that my mom had a corneal transplant when I was younger due to a chronic infection (in her eye) caused by contacts. Itās why I donāt wear them and live in glasses. Iām not suggesting they are the issue all of the sudden but is it possible they manufacturer is doing something different and youāre reacting to it? Have you tried wearing glasses for a week when it comes on, to see if that helps?
Not recently, when I was in my early 30ās I developed a systemic case of strep. No real symptoms, no sore throat or fever, just fatigue all the time. It took several months of antibiotics to get over it and stop being a carrier.
@PetaMarie that is really interestingā¦I took my first doses today, and I am experiencing some really bad side effects. Nauseated, headache, and fatigue. I read up on doxy and had no idea how severe the side effects can be! I am really hesitant to continue, I canāt be laid up from nausea and have to stay out of the sun and lose more weightā¦it looks like z packs can be equally as effective and maybe have fewer side effects, I might have to see if my doc can switch if things donāt improve 
Utterly anecdotal, but while I usually shrug off colds and keep going about my activities for a few days with the help of some sudafed, my spousal critter typically gets a couple of colds per winter in which she takes to her bed for several days and seems more like she has malaria than a common cold.
In contrast, after starting keto last summer, while our daughter (who eats ALL of the carbs) had at least two fairly bad colds last winter, both of us thought we were starting to come down with a cold after the kid brought it home, yet in each case it fizzled out and we never felt genuinely sick. (wow, thatās a crappy sentence, but Iām not fixing it)
It will take a couple more winters before I really believe this is a difference, but it is very unusual that neither of us really developed a cold in the last year. Weāre tentatively crediting the low-carb diet.
Itās not actually all that surprising. One thing about losing our fear of saturated fat is that it naturally elevates HDL-C, and researchers have uncovered in the past few years just how much cholesterol has to do as part of our immune system. It apparently helps kill unwanted bacteria, among other things.
Just riffing on cholesterol: while I lack a āspousal critterā of my own, I do like to have my equipment in good working order, and the fact that testosterone (and a couple of the female hormones, as well) is made out of cholesterol is just one more reason to appreciate cholesterol rather than fear it.
I thoroughly identify! Let this be our motto: āCrappy sentences ārā us!ā 
@PaulL indeed, @siobhan posted an article she wrote on the Cholesterol Code website regarding cholesterol and the immune system. Very fascinating stuff!
I had an allergic reaction to mascara many years ago that cause only one of my eyes to swell. The other one was fine. It took me a bit to realize it was the mascara since it only affected one eye. Could you be allergic to something?
Iāve been keto for over two years now, and I have not been sick. Like you, I had a few times where I thought maybe something was starting, but then nothing manifested itself.