A British holidaymaker was left in 'limbo' after developing a mystery 'bag' under her eye in Zante, which prevented her from being able to fly home for nine days.
Phoenix McPike noticed her left eye had developed a 'bag' underneath it just two days into her week-long trip to Zakynthos, in Greece. While it first appeared as though she was tired, the following morning the 'bag' had swelled dramatically and was affecting her sight.
She also noticed red patches and swelling on her face and, after visiting a local pharmacy, she was told to go to hospital.
Medical Treatment and Diagnosis
Fearing she had been bitten by a mosquito and was suffering a reaction, doctors treated her with steroid IVs and antihistamines. However it didn't appear to be an allergic reaction and doctors told Phoenix that she had a cheek, jaw, ear, chest, lip, sinus and lymph node infection, which would stop her from flying home.
Phoenix, a drama graduate from Diss, Norfolk, told creatorzine.com: 'I was devastated. My friend was unable to stay in Greece, so I was very worried about being alone. It was nerve-wracking to be essentially stranded in an unfamiliar country – especially as it was my first time in Greece.'
Initial Symptoms and Progression
'I noticed on one of the evenings what I thought looked like a heavy eye bag. I didn’t think much of it. I thought it could’ve been sun poisoning initially, but I felt well within myself and wasn’t concerned.'
'I went to sleep and the next morning noticed that I couldn’t see very well out of my left eye, so went to look in the bathroom mirror when I noticed it was severely swollen and was almost closed.'
'I went to hotel staff to see if they had a medical team onsite and they were visibly concerned and told me to go to a pharmacy.'
Support and Social Media Attention
Luckily, Phoenix's partner was able to fly out to Greece to support her with the ordeal. She has since detailed her experience in a TikTok, which has since received over 200,000 views.
Phoenix said: 'I know a lot have people [online] believe it was my eyelash extensions, however I don’t believe this and neither did the doctors.'
She explained that she removed her eyelash extensions but the infection continued - with it also only affecting one eye. Doctors never got to the bottom of what had caused the infection, nor what specific infection she was suffering from, but Phoenix finally got the all-clear.
Recovery and Reflection
Nine days after being admitted into hospital, Phoenix was able to return home on June 14 and she is now 'fully healed'.
Phoenix, who had travel insurance, said: 'When I finally got the all-clear to fly, I was ecstatic. My face literally lit up with relief, as being in limbo and not knowing when I'd be cleared was one of the scariest parts of the ordeal.'
'I'm gutted I missed so much of my holiday, but also very grateful that I was able to access medical care, and not have to worry about the costs that came with being treated.'
She added: 'I will definitely visit Greece again - it's a beautiful country and I don't see what happened to me as being tied to having gone to Greece. I think it was just a very unfortunate event that could happen to anyone, anywhere and at any time.'
