Eye Allergies

[xxsarahxx]

After struggling with red, itchy eyes for over a year, I am really starting to think that allergies might be my problem. I don't have any of the other dry eye symptoms, so I think that might not have been my problem after all. If I put drops in in the morning, my eyes will look and feel great until about noon. Around that time, they start getting red, itchy, watery.. generally just don't feel good. I also usually get a headache, which may or may not be related. Has anyone here experiened eye allergies, and if so, does that sound like the problem?

I've never had seasonal allergies or anything like that, so if it is allergies, I don't know what i'm allergic to. Dust maybe?

I'm still trying to find a good eye doctor in my area.. no luck. Any suggestions about what could be wrong?

[cleareyed]

Hi Sarah, over an 18 month period of dry eye symptoms and very bad RCE incidents, I eventually found a regimen and guesstimate of what caused my dry eye eruption. We moved to a bigger house out in the country of Central Ohio. 1 month later the dry eye stuff started, seemingly out of the blue. The only symptom before that was my intolerance for contact lens, I tried and finally gave up, they simply would not stay in and my eyes would dry out with them in. Though that never caused any RCE or pain.

During the 12 months or so of RCE outbreak, I was having a major RCE and Keratectomy procedure about once every 6-8 weeks. So I asked my opthalmalogist who would repair my RCE wounds about allergies. He would not help at all with allergy causes but did prescribe me Elestat which quickly removed any redness and also restored a bit of fluidy feeling in my eyes. I use Lacrilube at night to counter the night-time drying out and RCE chances and Refresh tears or generic equivalent during the day as a helper.

Later we continued to think of allergy 'things' and decided to do a full house duct cleaning. What they found was nasty. The other thing we did that possibly stirred up the house dust was to install new carpet prior to move-in in all but one room of our two-story house. AND the previous owner had a cat or two. I have never been allergic to anything prior but I am nearly convinced all these things aligning near the time my dry eye outbreak is just too coincidental.

I have been running my daily/nightly routine now every day and have been pain-free RCE-free for over 6 months! Good luck in your quest and remember that you may never find the true cause of your dry eye but if you can find a good method (for you) to manage/lessen/decrease the discomfort you will not be limited by it anymore.

[sanna]

I have seasonal allergies (every 5 years or so) and my eyes are watery and itchy and if i toutch my eyes they become red but if i donīt they stay white. It sounds to me that you have very dry eyes if you put in dopps in the morning and than at noon they turn red. Do you keep on putting dropps in your eyes for the rest of the day?
I drink a lot of water and try to eat right. You say you have a headaches too, maybe you need to drink more water. when i donīt drink a lot of water my eyes looks evan worse in the morning.

[Scout]

Ocular allergies are very often contact allergies. That means it is likely that the allergen you may be reacting to is something that comes in contact with your eyes or the skin near your eyes. Frangrances in makeup, perfume, hairspray, etc are a very common cause of ocular allergies.

The best way to find out if you are allergic to a substance or a fragrance is to experiment with removing the possible allergens to see if your eyes improve. For instance, don't use your eye makeup or your hairspray, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc., and see if it helps. Go through each and every one of them, removing it for a few days to see if there is an improvement.

You may be surprised how many substances we use daily can cause allergic reactions. I had used a particular body lotion for over 3 years before I realized it was causing ocular allergies.

Many people use all kinds of allergy medications and drops to improve their symptoms but if you can identify and remove the allergen from your daily life, you can remove the cause of your symptoms.

Scout