Eye infection

My cat has a swollen eye which I thought might be conjunctivitis.  He gets so stressed about the cat box, the vet and so on.  In the past when he's had this I've treated it with a teabag or with salt water and this has always worked before.  Not so this time.  So I've bought Chloramphenicol over the counter and have just given him his first treatment.  It contains 1% antibiotic.  The only trouble is I'm not sure if it's an injury another of my cats may have given him.  A clout out of a moment of temper.  There's no sign of actual damage to the eye.  The area around it is somewhat swollen and he has had a little scum around the bottom portion of the eye.  He doesn't rub it and it hasn't spread.  

If it's not conjunctivitis and is a slight injury would the antibiotic cream help the condition or not is what I'd like to know.  Thanks.   

If your cat has an eye infection he really needs to be seen by the vet. There are several things that could cause an infection and a vet will determine the best way to treat it. Gone untreated damage to the eye can happen. We can share our experiences with treating our cats, but the forum shoul not be used to replace veternary care.

One of my kittens had an eye infection that started up on Friday night, the vet gave him ointment for his eye along with being put onto clavomax an antibiotic for an upper respriatory infection. Both of these medications are prescription and need to be obtained from a vet.

I understand cats not liking to go to the vet, my older boy doesn't but when he needs to see the vet I do take him. If the other animals stress him out, you could try getting an appointment during a slow time when there may not be as many animals in the waiting room. If your cat gets stressed when riding in the car, you can try placing a thin blanket or towel over the carrier, this does seem to have a calming effect on cats.

Thank you for the advice but I'm an old hand and know when I need a vet.  All I need to know for the moment is whether the antibiotic Chloramphenical will help his eye if he doesn't have conjunctivitis as I suspect and it's an antibiotic he needs that is more specific to a clout from his half sister that's caused the irritation.  That's the specific question that I need answered.  Don't worry I won't let him go blind - but the circumstances are complicated and it would be preferable for me to treat him at home if I can so that is what I'm trying to do.  If I can't, I won't.