Addicted to Eye drops for Red Eyes

[halfmoonbaygal]

Red eyes and drops

I used to be "addicted" to nose spray and the rebound stuffiness was miserable. My husband is a Clear Eyes user and I'm trying to get him to use my eye drops instead, but he insists that he needs the Clear Eyes. When I decided to quit using nose sprays, I weaned slowly over a couple of weeks (just like weaning off sugar) and while I had a couple of really bad nights where I had to attempt to sleep sitting up because it was the only way I could breathe, it did work.

I'm asking this for my husband, actually. If you quit using the redness-relieving eye drops, will the rebound redness lessen over time (assuming no underlying medical problem with the eyes, of course)? I would assume (hope) that damage to the vessels isn't permanent? He's been using these drops once a day for about two years. I don't really notice the redness that he's trying to relieve, except on days where we've made a long drive.

[Jeff]

Hi Timothy I don't know if you are familiar with the Boston Foundation for Sight. They have been featured on the Oprah show and seem to be the place to go in the Boston area from what I was told. I was considering going there myself.
Jeff

[baddabingtim]

I have all of the dr holly eye drops - nutritear, dakrina and dwell - I understand that I need to quit clear eyes - it is tough to deal with - I am going to go cold turkey - I realize I will deal with the red -

To be honest I went to several doctors and none have been worth the trip -

I live in the Boston area if anyone knows a good doctor....

[Amy09]

I would definately recommend stopping the use of clear eyes NOW. I, too, have to live with red eyes, but trust me, although it may be hard to deal w/ at first, you need to realize that there could be much worse things that could happen w/ your eyes. I once used to use over the counter eye drops to help w/ redness, but when I read an article about the complications w/ these eye drops, I immediately stopped and never looked back. To this day I'm still scared to use them again.

First of all, over the counter eye drops have perservatives in them. Using these drops over time causes increased complications and irritations w/ you eyes. If you aren't already experiencing eye pain, trust me, you do not want to have to deal with that chronically.

Second, regularily using over the counter eye drops that say they get rid of redness eventually causes the drops to lose their effect. Using redness-reliever drops for extended periods of time causes something called "rebound redness" or increased redness after the drops have worn off. The longer you wait to quit using the drops, the redder your eyes will eventually get over time. It may be a hard pill to swallow, but this is no joke, and probably one reason you are dealing w/ red eyes already.

[Rebecca Petris]

I have been using dakrina and dwell -

One more thought, just out of curiosity did you try the NutraTear and if so how did your eyes respond?

[Rebecca Petris]

I just read your posts to make sure I understand. (Didn't at first appreciate the word "addicted" in the thread title.)

Something is causing your eyes to be red. You certainly can try things randomly (like each and every artificial tear product available over the counter) in case they have as immediate an effect as the Clear-Eyes. But the chances are they won't. That immediate effect you so value has, as you know, damaging side effects, increasing (probably) the recurrence of the redness, so you're in a vicious cycle.

Whether you simply quit the cleareyes cold turkey (which depending what's really wrong may well bring you some improvement with time even without further treatment) or get the cause properly investigated and treated (which may take visits to more than one doctor and may take attempts at more than one type of treatment), the only way to break out of that damaging cycle is almost certainly going to involve living WITH red eyes and WITHOUT Clear-Eyes for a period of time. Seems to me that accepting that unpleasant and unwelcome fact is a real hurdle here.

I don't know if it's any help but there are others here who have had red eyes for long periods and lived through it. It's not fun. Even my 3-year-old sometimes asks me why my eyes are all red - makes me wonder what other people think. But taking proper care of your eyes is so important - even if it means living with redness for awhile.

[Lucy]

What do I do keep making appointments -

Yes, you'll have to keep making appointments to see a doctor until you get the problem resolved.

[dianat]

Timothy,

What bothers you the most...red eyes or eye discomfort? I'm confused.

[baddabingtim]

Doctor

I went to a doctor about 3 months ago - they gave me a sample of some dry eye drops - I think called smooth -

What do I do keep making appointments -

What I want to do is figure out a way to get off the clear eyes - I have some artificial tears I bought - let me try them...

[Rebecca Petris]

Dwelle and Dakrina are for severe dry eye, not red eye, and the crusting some people experience is basically a tradeoff for better protection from corneal erosions. It sounds as though if you need an artificial tear a lighter one might be more appropriate.

I don't want to be a broken record asking about a diagnosis but personally I think that's an important first step. There are some other threads here about red eyes that might be helpful?

[baddabingtim]

Dry eye drops

I have been using dakrina and dwell - both are crusty the clowns -

My problem is red eyes and these do not help - Because I work with people all day it is pretty hard to go red -


any suggestions

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi there, welcome to Dry Eye Talk!

Did your doctor give you a diagnosis? Did he confirm your tear production is low? Any other conditions going on?

You definitely want to avoid using vaso-constrictors (that's what Clear Eyes is) on a regular basis. They temporarily relieve red at first but they probably do nore harm than good when used habitually. They also often have harsh preservatives (Clear Eyes has benzalkonium chloride).

If you have dry eyes, the most appropriate over-the-counter eyedrops to use are the artificial tears (the drops that are described as "Lubricant eye drops" - NOT redness relievers).

There are quite a number of additional treatments to explore. There is a lot of info about this on our FAQ pages (here). Some of the most common "first steps" other than artificial tears are punctal plugs and prescription eyedrops (e.g. Restasis).

[baddabingtim]

Here is my story - When I was young I had problems with my eyes that I can only attest to flourscent lights. My eyes would burn when I was in school. They were always red, I tried every eye drop - the only one that would give me some temporary relief was clear-eyes - Anyway I am obviously addicted to them - I wake up with red eyes and the only thing to remove them is clear eyes - Does anyone have any advice - I have went to a doctor and theey always give me dry eye drops - which I try - I have dakrina and am trying to use that more....