Eye infection? (Australia)

[alex123711]

I've had dry eyes/ blepharitis for a couple of years, not going to go into that at the moment though, just talking about a recent problem I've been having; last 5/6 weeks or so I've had one eye thats been bloodshot especially in the corner of the eye, sometimes blurry and giving a lot of discharge the other eye has also been having more discharge than usual, but this one is more of a yellowish colour.

I've been using sterilid eye cleanser on both eyes for a long time before this for the blepharitis so usually don't have much discharge at all.. the affected eye is also looking a lot smaller than the other eye (maybe swollen?) especially in the morning and late at night. i feel like its an infection or something what can I do? Also it looks like where the redness is building up like theres a protrusion forming like an ulcer or something when its bad.

[jenny2008]

please go to your doctor...

[Susie28]

sounds like that strange desease my sister had two month ago. it was something like an infect. she became strong medicine from her eye doctor and it took serveral weeks until it became better. Please go to your doctor - only a specials can treat that!

[alex123711]

please go to your doctor...

Already been to several. One just prescribed otc eyedrops.. even though I have been using and tried every eyedrop available for years. Another one just gave me an anti inflammatory drop which obviously isn't going to treat the cause.

[Rebecca Petris]

Alex, what kind of doctor are you seeing?

You really need a corneal specialist if at all possible. Seems as though they ought to be able to give you better answers about what's going on, especially in light of this discharge and swelling. Make sure the doctor flips your lids during the exam.

Any possibility you're mildly allergic to something you're using on or in your eyes? I would be really careful about any products I used in these circumstances, keeping it to a bare minimum (other than any Rx drops you have to take). I have a chronic condition in my left eye which when it flares causes some swelling, discharge, redness and blurring. When I feel a flare-up coming, I try to leave my eye and lid alone as much as possible and just rinse with unpreserved saline now and then.

[alex123711]

Opthamologists, optomoetrists and the GP so far. One of the opthamologists is the one that told me dry eye doesn't affect anyone I'm just paranoid and that restasis definitely isn't available here.. even though it was and I eventually got it. Comments like these are very common and i'm getting pretty sick of it they just seem to make up some bs to get you out of their office asap, they must think people know nothing.One of them said the discharge is just tears sticking together, nothing to worry about..??! Mostly they just do the vision tests every time even though they know thats fine. When I developed a lump on 1 eyelid one of them told me its nothing and probably just means the tear glands are working better.

[Rebecca Petris]

Opthamologists, optomoetrists and the GP so far. One of the opthamologists is the one that told me dry eye doesn't affect anyone I'm just paranoid and that restasis definitely isn't available here.. even though it was and I eventually got it. Comments like these are very common and i'm getting pretty sick of it they just seem to make up some bs to get you out of their office asap, they must think people know nothing.One of them said the discharge is just tears sticking together, nothing to worry about..??! Mostly they just do the vision tests every time even though they know thats fine. When I developed a lump on 1 eyelid one of them told me its nothing and probably just means the tear glands are working better.

Yikes. It really sounds like gross incompetence. Dry eye affects people, you're not paranoid, tears don't stick together, and lumps in an eyelid don't mean all is well, they could be a sty or chalazion which requires treatment. I wonder if any of our aussie members could help you out with a referral to one of the eye doctors better equipped for this. I have taken the liberty of changing the thread title to make it more visible to them.

If it were me I'd try to track down a doctor who has been actively publishing studies related to dry eye and/or blepharitis. There's not a whole lot going on down in Aus dry eye doctor-wise but there's definitely some... takes a bit of detective work to find them.

[Spoon]

Definitely look at going to another ophthalmologist. I'm sure you can find a good one. Just a thought but since you mentioned the appearance on redness building up to what looks like an ulcer, pinguecula and phlycten come to mind. Dry eye can cause Pinguecula to become injected/vascularised. Phlycten are more common in bleph patients (thought to be a hypersensitivity reaction to staph bacteria). Phlycten resolve with treatment, a pinguecula wont (unless surgically removed) but if you can remove the irritation it will look much less noticeable. However you may have neither, see a specialist. good luck

[Spoon]

When i think about it the above was probably better left unsaid as it is a wild guess. Ulceration from bacterial infection is possible and so are many other things. It could well resolve with correct treatment

[SimpsonDesert]

Specialist Dry Eye Clinic in Sydney (Australia)

Hi Alex,

Specialist Dry Eye Clinic in Sydney:

Dr Colin Chan
Level 2, 75 Grafton St
Bondi Junction NSW 2022
(02) 9386 3666

Dr Chan also practices in Chatswood, but specialised dry eye testing gear is at Bondi J. Thanks to Dr Chan I now have a life, still with dry eye symptoms, objectively measured, but in such comfort that I can ignore my eyes most of the time - it really is that drastic.

Everyone's circumstances differ - my dry eye and diagnosed blepharitis were/are post-surgical. I was in constant pain and misery, wind intolerable, off work and nearly mad with discomfort and uncertainty - and like you told I had a chronic condition that might or might not 'go away' and to use drops and live with it. I wouldn't go chasing the more exotic treatments in the US (re your earlier posts) until a proper diagnosis has been given, and more mundane but often effective treatments like inflammation / infection control have been seriously trialled over many months. Even if you live outside Sydney, monthly visits here would certainly be cheaper and more productive than overseas travel.

Check my earlier posts for more detail and the regimes I've been using, and feel free to send a personal message if you wish.

I am incubating a "Plug-a-Doc" post soon, and even(!!) a "Dry Eye Triumph" post. Too many posters go off half-cocked when some treatment appears to work overnight, and also understandably despair when they interpret the "chronic" part of the condition as applying to the acutely painful out-of-control phase, when with patience and proper treatment, great improvement can occur.

That said, I don't think one can ever be complacent with dry eye, and even if feeling better, sensible precautions against relapse must always be taken. I got carried away and pulled pollen-y weeds in the garden without eye protection and had itchy painful consequences for days - never before experienced prior to dry-eye.

Rebecca, if you're reading, my heartfelt thanks for such a wonderful website. It helps not only directly, but also by putting the afflicted in touch with one another, esp in countries where dry eye is even more neglected than in the US. So the magic spreads.

Regards, SimpsonDesert TBUT=4 and 4.5, still dry but clouds on the horizon

[alex123711]

Thanks for your post. The thing is I've tried basically everything that is available for dry eye, so I'm not sure what else DR Chan could offer?

[Rebecca Petris]

Thanks for your post. The thing is I've tried basically everything that is available for dry eye, so I'm not sure what else DR Chan could offer?

Alex, I talk to people with dry eye every day. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "I've tried everything available". Frankly it's almost never true. They only think they have.

First they may not even have been diagnosed properly, so the things they're trying might not be appropriate in the first place. Secondly, in many cases the things they've tried have often been concurrent (so they don't have any way of knowing what the effects of a single thing have), not near long enough, and not methodical. Third, there's always more things to try. Not saying this is the case with you, just mentioning probabilities

I have to say I totally agree with SimpsonDesert that seeking a better expert locally is probably going to be a more promising solution than traveling here at this point. If IPL had a longer and better track record I might feel differently but it doesn't (at least not yet).

But, to any new dr. I'd go really well armed with questions and also with a willingness to methodically try what they recommend (even if it's on the list of things you've tried before).

[DCRdryeye]

Hi Alex,
I agree with Rebecca, there's always new things to try. The problem is you get frustrated with all the things you've already tried, there's been so much you begin to think you're at the end of the line.
I'm in Australia too, and yes we lack eye specialists who take dry eye seriously. They all do the same tests and only offer artificial tears, "have you tried thera tears?"... of course we have!!! then they go on about punctal plugs and Flaxseed oil...and believe these will work. None of them have suggested warm compresses, MG expression, etc. We know more than they do!!!!
We need Restasis in Australia and we need it subsidised by the TGA (that's being worked on). We also need something similar to the Boston Foundation for Site. However, there are optometrist who fit scleral lenses here, I've tried them a few times. However, they have to send them off to get them readjusted and it takes 3 weeks to get the new fitting...it's a very lengthy process. Also we only manufacture mini-sclerals that can be filled with saline solution...the maximum size is 18mm. That didn't do well with me, my lower eyelid kept getting caught under the scleral. There's more to the scleral story in Australia...I've tried the lot.
I know what you're going through. Try new things. And keep in mind new treatments are on the horizon.

[alex123711]

I've tried restasis, you can get it, it just takes a while to get. The problem is i'm not sure if its related to my dry eye these new problems i'm experiencing, mainly in one eye when usually both eyes have been the same; this one eyelid is more droopy than the other one, am getting more stringy discharge than usual in both eyes but more in this one eye, which I never usually get at all because I do eyelid cleaning everynight.. and a large patch of red veins in the corner of this same eye that seems to be getting worse and worse.. also have been experiencing pain in this one eye hard to explain but sorta feels like a sharp pain when i look directly up.. have tried telling this to the dr's they don't even listen I don't know what else I can do.

[alex123711]

simpson desert what treatments did the dr give you? I can't imagine there being anything I haven't tried.