I have an idea on Blepharitis Let me know your thoughts.

[bjornbjorn]

I am a 28 yr old male suffering from dry eyes and have had a burning sensation lately. I live in Canada (West Coast) so I have free healthcare and have seen 2 optometrists and 3 ophthalmologist and they have all told me nothing about my eyes. I guess I will have to keep trying. I started getting dry eyes two months after I started getting imunotherapy (allergy shots) I dont know if it is related or not. Well here's my question. If Blepharitis is caused by Allergies in some cases (more than likely mine) shouldn't imunotherapy with in turn helps my allergies make my Blepharitis better over time. Almost like a cure. My allergies are very mild in comparison to when I started my imunothrapy. Let me know if anyone has any ideas or if you have shared a similar experience.

[indrep]

Bjorn,
Your theory is good if dry eye disease had only a single cause. Unfortunately once the disease starts it soon becomes multifactorial in nature. In other words solving what might have been the original cause does not cure the subsequent issues that keep the disease going. Dry eye disease is a progressive disease that requires management throughout its course. Much light diabetes, glaucoma, Sjogrens, etc.

[FearlessTearless]

Allergy Injections

Hi Bjorn,

Yet another mystifying 'possible connection' in the fun grab bag of 'possible causes' and 'connections' that characterise this maddening disorder.

I had a series of allergy injections, but they were after I already had dry eye. The treatment stopped most of the sneezing and itchy nose symptoms. I was told by the allergist that itchy eyes and palate seldom responded to the treatment, for reasons he couldn't explain. I had neither of these symptoms so never gave that much thought.

10 years after end of treatments, I've now started to get seasonal allergies again, but much milder. However now, having existing dry eye, the allergies are really bugging them. (It is early Spring in Australia) Add itching to the existing pain.

For me, the original treatment did not cause dry eye, but I had no idea that the allergies could return. Or are they new ones that I haven't been treated for? And why eye involvement now when I had dry eye and the original allergies didn't bother them much previously?

I too would like to hear others experiences/information related to this.

Polly

[rooneyandfergie]

@polly
I have allergies myself. Have had allergies ever since i could start walking. Allergies never go away. You could have immunotherapy or other various forms of treatment. These allergy shots could desensitize you to the allergen. This will cause an increase of the same allergen to cause the same allergy symptoms you had previously. The shots increase the quantity required to trigger the allergy, it does not cure it. I believe strongly that allergy is a genetic condition though it is not substantiated. You will usually find a few members of the extended family having allergies. My uncle, aunt and me all have it.

You mentioned about why are your allergies affecting your dry eye now when it had not in the past. Frankly, i have no idea. But i get what you mean. I had no history of sinus issues until i had dry eyes. I am sure they are linked in some way but i don't know how.

@bjornbjorn

This is my take on the allergies causing your blepharitis. Basically allergies are due to a malfunction of the immune system. In other words, your immune system is too over-reactive. Why is it that dry eye sufferers have lacrimal glands that do not produce enough tears? What has caused the lacrimal gland to stop producing tears? What has caused the inflammation? I believe for some of us it could be a case of the immune system attacking the lacrimal gland or eyes and hence causing the inflammation. No i am not talking about Sjögren's syndrome. I am talking a milder form of an immune disorder whereby the immune system attacks the different components of the tear production system. I give a few reasons to back up my claim.

I observed that my eyelid tend to have rashes or little hives since having dry eye. it appears more in the left eye where it is drier. I started having sinus issues after having dry eye. My sinus issues are likely caused by a low grade allergy which has caused the sinuses to become inflamed. Thirdly, my ears seem to be flushed red more easily nowadays. One of the things that happen in the case of allergy is an increase in blood supply. The rashes and stuff that occur in an allergy attack is due to a combination of the release of histamine and increased blood to the area. I believe that when dry eye occurs, a systemic wide effect may have occurred which causes the immune system to treat the eye as an allergen and attack itself

[FearlessTearless]

allergen increase indeed!

Thank you, R&F. We are having a lot of pollen this year. Years of drought and now a reasonably wet year has made everything lush. I've had allergies since age 14 and know that my grandfather also had allergy desensitization treatments (before I was born). I don't know what the stats are on familial allergies, but my husband and his daughter have almost identical allergic symptoms, that are unlike mine.

The inflammation theme seems to be a constant with dry eye. I have an autoimmune disorder that started about a year before the dry eye did. My red ears are from rosacea, which started about 5 years after the autoimmune thing. Rosacea is now also thought by some to be caused by an immune response. I can see a possible interconnection, even if my Drs can't. Funnily enough, my optometrist seems to be the only one who sees the larger picture for dry eye.

Maybe one day all the specialists will talk to each other and get a handle on this disorder. I've learned more here than I've gotten from all of them talking at cross purposes to me about why I have this. And I've certainly learned a lot more about possible management ideas, though the doctors do seem to be getting better at that recently (I've had dry eye for around 17? years).

Bjorn, it will be interesting to see how/if your decreasing allergic response influences your blepharitis. As indrep said, even if you can identify what caused the condition, it won't necessarily help you fix it. People who developed the condition from wearing contact lenses may know what started theirs, but stopping wearing the lenses isn't always a cure. And because the symptoms of DES can wax and wane for many people, it can be difficult to pin down what helps and what your triggers are. Delayed reactions make it even harder to figure out. The wealth of information here at DEZ is priceless and should help you to manage the condition, even if the specialists you've seen haven't been of much use to you.