Damage / Dry eyes from rebound hyperemia

[joe.s]

Hi all

First of all i would just like to say how helpful and sometimes comforting this site has been. Its really helped me with ny experience.

So, here's my situation. I have previously posted about my struggle with rebound hyperemia and dry eyes from whitening eye drops. Murine to be specific, pretty much the same as visine i think but more popular here in the UK (i think :P). It has been 5 months since i used the drops so i think, and am led to believe, that the rebound effect should have cleared by now. To be honest it feels like it has, my eyes don't feel as congested as they did (if you know what i mean). My eyes are still bloodshot when i wake up, quite badly. This lasts about 2 hours, then they do improve, in fact i dare say my eyes are quite normal through the day if i stay at home, but this is not the case when i am at a shopping center or university, when they tend to flare up and feel a bit uncomfortable and dry, as well as becoming bloodshot.

But, overall, they are not too bad through the day. It is after about 5pm, give or take an hour, that they start to get bad. whether i am at home or anywhere else the deteriorate quite rapidly, to the point where they are really red and dry by about 7:30 - 8pm. This obviously has an affect of my social life and my relationships with my friends and family, as it depresses s me when they look so horrible. I sometimes consider going back to the drops just to have a normal student/young life. Writing this now, i cant believe a small bottle of eye drops have put me in this position, its ridiculous but true.

Anyway if anyone else has experienced this, i know there are people on here who have suffered from rebound hyperemia. I would appreciate any help, or even if people would just like to share similar stories, i would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

Joe

[Hagan]

Hi Joe,

I'm not sure if your problem has been solved yet or not, but I wanted to share my experience with you in the hope that it might help.

My eyes were addicted to over-the-counter vasoconstrictors for over 20 years. Visine. Clear Eyes. Brite Eyes. Opcon-A. Safyr Bleur. Murine. Naphcon-A. Prefrin and Oxylin. You name it. If a brand was available in the country I was in, I tried it. I even made combination-cocktails out of some of them. And just like anyone and everyone else, I got caught in the rebound redness trap.

I’ve lived with that panic, where worrying about your eyes consumes your every lucid thought. How it affects your behaviour: peering into any sort of reflective surface to check if your eyes are red. Planning a day out with the family and only worrying about where and when you might be able to put eye drops in. Visiting the bathroom obsessively to study the mirror. Dreading late nights at work for reasons fairly different to your colleagues’.
And I know the ‘looks’ all too well. Complete strangers passing judgement on you. Making assumptions. Must be drugs. Must be alcohol. Must be something wrong with him.
So I understand just how desperate things can get and that’s why I have to offer you this hope.

I had visited eye care professionals on two separate occasions before and they’d unfortunately done nothing to help. But I, as the addicts say, had hit rock bottom. Something had to change. And I got lucky. I saw a particularly open-minded and dedicated ophthalmologist, and he found a way out. Dumb luck? Sure-footed science? Don’t know. But it worked for me:

Month One – eliminating variables
In the first month, I used red eye drops as usual. My doc’s plan was to eliminate any existing infections, allergies or conditions that may contribute towards causing red eyes in the first place. It’s like hitting the reset button. This was the easy bit.
Here’s a list of the brands/manufacturers of all the different things he put me on:

Eye-lid cleansing, twice a day – LID-CARE sterile wipes from Alcon

Steroidal Eye Drops every four hours – MINIMS from Bausch & Lomb (Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate 0.1%)

Anti-bacterial Eye Drops for infections, twice a day – Fucithalmic 5g Viscous Eye Drops (Fusidic Acid) This stuff burns the crap out of you.

Warm compression, twice a day for 5 minutes. (Hot facecloth on the eyes when you get up and before you go to bed.)

Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed – Systayne Ultra UD from Alcon. (Or Refresh Plus from Allergan)

The effect was immediate and dramatic. I went from having to use my red eye drops every 2 - 3 hours, to every 6 - 8 hours. And sometimes only twice a day. There was real hope here.

Next Two Weeks – weaning my eyes
After the first month, the ambition was to drastically reduce the dependence on vasoconstrictors. I also had to lower the steroid dosage.

Eye-lid cleansing, twice a day.
Steroidal Eye Drops every six hours – 4 times a day
Anti-bacterial Ointment once a day.
Warm compression, twice a day for 5 minutes.
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed.
Red eye drops - as infrequently as possible. Try not to exceed 2/3 times a day.

Quick word on the warm compression – it makes your eyes red. Don’t panic about that. The benefits far outweigh the 20 minutes of pinky eyes. The oils need to flow. Go with it.


Next Two weeks – off the poison
This was very challenging. Having been dependent on vasoconstrictors for so long, it took a real leap of faith to stop using them at all.

Eye-lid cleansing, once a day.
Warm compression, twice a day for 5 minutes.
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed

Maintenance
Eye-lid cleansing, two to three times a week.
Warm compressions, twice a day for 5 minutes.
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed.
I've also started taking Omega 3 and Flaxseed Oil caps every day.

It’s been around two months and although my eyes aren’t the bright, sparkly white that one sees in fashion magazines, they’re clear and nowhere near the ghastly full-blown red they used to be. And, more importantly, they’re not dependent on vasocontrictors anymore. I panic less and I leave my house without checking my pockets for eye drops. You know what I’m talking about.

I wish you all the best.

[DryLondoner]

Hagan, what a great post. Very motivating. And I know exactly what you mean about the reflective surfaces!!

[Leelu]

Hi Hagan,
Wow! Thanks for sharing. Sounds like there might be some hope for me. A chronic dry-eye and ocular redness sufferer for YEARS! Tried everything to get rid of the redness. Just about everything you tried. My doctor does not spend enough time with me discussing my issues. I read about a doctor in NY, Robert Latkany, who is also a dry eye sufferer himself, and he operates the Dry Eye Center. Can't wait to meet with him. I also have blepharitis and allergies....
I am also consumed about the appearance of my eyes. Always looking into mirrors and making sure I have my drops. This condition also prevents me from attending social functions because of my red eyes. I may get 3 hours relief from Naphcon-A. That's about it. Tired of all of this..going on 40 years for me!! Would love to hear about how you are doing today.

[Hagan]

Hey Leelu,

Sorry to hear about your eye troubles. You've done twice the time I did, so I really feel for you. I'm hoping that Dr Latkany will help you find some relief.

I'm doing great. I haven't used a single drop of that poison for 7 months now. Every now and then I'll use a natural tear (preservative free) when the office air-con gets the better of me, but other than that, nothing.

I was on a business trip a couple weeks ago and our plane was diverted 20 mins before landing to a military base, because the airport had closed due to a plane being stuck on the runway. Long story short, we sat on the tarmac for 6 hours. All in all, it turned into a 12-hour trip - checked into the hotel at 5am!
That would have stressed me out incredibly back when I was on the vasoconstrictors, because I'd constantly have to go to the bathroom to 'fix' my eyes. And as you know, there also comes a point at which that stuff stops working and your eyes stay red. I was so relieved sitting on that plane. While everyone was freaking out, I was just watching movies - happy to not have to get up!

I tell you this because I sincerely believe that your problem will be solved, and you too will feel the relief that I have. You have to have hope. If they could fix me, they can fix you.
I seriously suspect that it was the steroid drops that made all the difference. As soon as I started using them, I could see a change. Have you been on a course of steroid drops? And have you tried the warm compressions?

Wishing you all the best when you see the new doc. Please keep in touch and let me know what happens.

Cheers,

[Henry47]

This will be of help to you Joe.s, Leelu and Hagan: REMOVED LINK

[Rebecca Petris]

OK Henry47 I'm going to ask you to stop posting that link. This is a forum for people with ocular surface disease. Recommending products that are harmful for dry eye is not OK here.