eye wont open

[choriona]

okay okay, i know what you are going to say...take him to a vet!!! BUt, besides that, what can I do in the mean time? My male veiled (I just acquired a few weeks ago) has always had his one eye shut more often than open. His owner said he does that when he's stressed, so I let it go for a while. He has a shower every 2 days, as I was trying to flush it out. BUT, just last weekend he began rubbing it on sticks. NOW it is fully shut and a black "bruise" is on the lower part of the lid. So, until a vet trip can be arranged, what can I do to clean it? What products work? Can I use a Q-Tip? How about an eye-dropper? Shoud I try opening it up to see if it is pussy, or red or something? Do bacterial infections attack the eye, and do they usually take about 2 weeks to spread into something terrible??!