Allergic conjunctivitis, Zyrtec and allergy shots

[Ariel]

After having spent over ten hours a day on this forum for many months seeing my DE condition getting worse every day I was lucky to try Zyrtec anti-allergy tables a few weeks ago and as soon as I did I was 80 percent better.

I'm now going to visit Dr. Geerling in Germany as Spain doesn't have any good DE specialists so I hope he can be of help as I haven't even been properly diagnosed.

In the meanwhile, I've been hearing about ocular allergy being treated most effectively with shots so I'd like to know if any of you has had any success with them. Do you you have to visit an ophthalmologist or an allergy specialist in order to get them?

[GinaJ]

Have you seen an allergist? I would see one. When my eyes were not getting better after many eye specialists I went to one. Both types of doctors though the DE specialist or opthamologist and the allergist are needed most likely in the long run if you have an allergy

[Bette40]

continued relief?

Ariel,
I have been reading your posts with interest as we have a similar story. Blepharitis with Burning and (for me, lately,) itching as main symptoms. Warm Compresses did not help. After almost a year of hygeine, compresses, accupuncture, diet etc etc I finally was given FML. Immediate relief. I did 4 weeks drop in morning and night. Then a break of about a month and then another month of FML. Pressure in my eyes checked before 2nd month's supply. Both times my eyes were great. Could wear make up. Felt 'normal'
My eyes have never been as bad as pre steroids but just recently started a low level burn again. So ... am interested in your success with anti allergy drugs? Do you still feel the benefit? Please say you do.
best,
Bette

[JJdryeye]

After having spent over ten hours a day on this forum for many months seeing my DE condition getting worse every day I was lucky to try Zyrtec anti-allergy tables a few weeks ago and as soon as I did I was 80 percent better.

I'm now going to visit Dr. Geerling in Germany as Spain doesn't have any good DE specialists so I hope he can be of help as I haven't even been properly diagnosed.

In the meanwhile, I've been hearing about ocular allergy being treated most effectively with shots so I'd like to know if any of you has had any success with them. Do you you have to visit an ophthalmologist or an allergy specialist in order to get them?

I have had three different doctors tell me my eyes have an allergic look to them. They always have a certain amount of red in them, I can't even remember the last time the whites of my eyes were clear. I tried Pataday on two different occassions but it did nothing for me. I also took allergy immunotherapy shots for over three years, but never saw any improvement with my dry eyes. I've also tried restasis. The only thing that has given me any relief is warm compresses. So I'm curious to know if I should be pursuing this ocular allergy route. Any advice?

[Amy_NJ]

I was told my Bleph/MGD is the result of allergies as well. I've always suffered with seasonal hay fever. I remember having puffy eyelids on ocassion as a child. I've never had anything like this, but it certainly is plausible that it's allergies. I use Elestat drops twice a day and I have had some relief (eyes are less bloodshot). It took about a week to notice any improvement. I also had a very bad reaction to Pataday (blood red eyes after a few hours of instilling). I am also on Restasis 2X per day, which I also think is just starting to help (just started week six). I began immunotherapy shots a few months ago, but haven't noticed any improvement from the shots yet.

[Ariel]

Thanks to all of you for your feedback. If I haven't been here sooner is only because 80% of my problem is virtually gone. "Zyrtec" is indeed a lifesaver for me --to the point I no longer need to do any of the things I had been doing before such as the eyelid hygiene twice a day, having a humidifier on all day long, and taking every nutritional supplement there is.

No more of that for me!!! I have some discomfort when I use the computer but I spend about 10-12 hours a day in front of it. If I don't I can pretty much forget about the itching and burning. I have an appointment with Dr. Gerling in Germany in a month so hopefully I can get some advice from him on how to proceed with my DE treatment. Eye doctors in Spain are clueless when it comes to DES so I've given up on them.

My routine now is taking the Zyrtec tablet every day. I also take 100 of doxy, fish oil, and Omega 3 tablets. I also instill a drop of cyclosporine with lyposomes at 1% before going to bed. During the day I use "Aquoral" eye drops only if I'm at the computer.

Amy--- you mentioned "Elestat" eye drops, which I just learned I can get over the counter here. I had never heard of them until you mentioned them but it was also a DEZ member who mentioned "Zyrtec" and that's how I started using it. One advantage to living here is that you don't need to invest money visiting a doctor every time you want to try a new medicine. Practically everything except honey drops requires a prescription in the US which is crazy.

I'll post again to let all of you know if "Elestat" is helping me. The "itching and burning" I feel now is very mild and it disappears as soon as I take my eyes off the computer. It's a good thing it isn't nearly as bothersome as it was before because none of the eye drops I'm using seems to help. I'm going to give "Elestat" a shot.

I might get tested for allergies in Germany. I did in Spain but it was a waste of money as the results were negative. I will be leaving Spain sometime next year so I wonder if my ocular allergy will persist. I've never been allergic to anything so it is a surprise to me that "Zyrtec" is working so well. ---I guess none of you except Amy is being treated for ocular allergy with shots. I would think that if an over the counter pill is working so well the shots would work even better, but maybe I'm wrong.

Please check this link: http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...ghlight=Zyrtec
as there appears to be some confusion regarding "Zyrtec" "Reactine" and "Cetirizine".

[JJdryeye]

Thanks to all of you for your feedback. If I haven't been here sooner is only because 80% of my problem is virtually gone. "Zyrtec" is indeed a lifesaver for me --to the point I no longer need to do any of the things I had been doing before such as the eyelid hygiene twice a day and taking every nutritional supplement there is.

No more of that for me!!! I have some discomfort when I use the computer but I spend about 10-12 hours a day on it, and if I'm not on the computer I can pretty much forget about my itching and burning. I have an appointment with Dr. Gerling in Germany in a month so hopefully I can get some advice from him on how to proceed with my treatment. Eye doctors in Spain are useless when it comes to DES so I've given up on them completely.

My routine now is taking the Zyrtec tablet every day. I also take 100 of doxy, fish oil, and Omega 3 tablets. I also instill a drop of cyclosporine with lyposomes at 1% before going to bed. During the day I use "Aquoral" eye drops only if I'm at the computer.

Amy--- you mentioned "Elestat" eye drops, which I just learned I can get over the counter here. I had never heard of them until you mentioned them but it was also a DEZ member who mentioned "Zyrtec" and that's how I started using it. One advantage to living here is that you don't need to invest money visiting a doctor every time you want to try a new medicine. Practically everything except hone drops requires a prescription in the US which is crazy.

I'll post again to let all of you know if "Elestat" is helping me. The "itching and burning" I feel now is very mild and it disappears as soon as I take my eyes off the computer. It's a good thing it isn't nearly as bothersome as it was before because none of the eye drops I'm using seems to help. I'm going to give "Elestat" a shot.

I might get tested for allergies in Germany. I did in Spain but it was a waste of money as the results were negative. I will be leaving Spain sometime next year so I wonder if my ocular allergy will persist. I've never been allergic to anything so it is a surprise to me that "Zyrtec" is working so well. ---I guess none of you except Amy is being treated for ocular allergy with shots. I would think that if an over the counter pill is working so well the shots would work a lot better.

Were you already taking all that other stuff when you tried the Zyrtec? Or did you start some of these items at the same time as Zyrtec?

[Ariel]

I was taking everything ---for months--- and the only thing that brought an immediate relief was FML eye drops, which you can't take for long periods.

[Amy_NJ]

Glad to hear that you are getting relief! I am allergic to everything, and I was previously not optomistic abut the shots because I knew I was allergic to more than they tested me for (they only test for approx. 40 common allergens--to test for everything would be too burdensome). Dr. L. explained to me that even though the shots will not help with everything I am allergic to, they will help "chip away at the mountain." You can also implement some environmental controls. I am allergic to dust and dust mites, so I make sure to clean my house every weekend and I encase my bedding. I also invested in a commercial-grade hypo-allergenic vacuum cleaner. In addition, I use an air filter in my bedroom to remove pollen and other allergens. Have you read Advocate's posts on the subject? They are very helpful.

[JJdryeye]

Glad to hear that you are getting relief! I am allergic to everything, and I was previously not optomistic abut the shots because I knew I was allergic to more than they tested me for (they only test for approx. 40 common allergens--to test for everything would be too burdensome). Dr. L. explained to me that even though the shots will not help with everything I am allergic to, they will help "chip away at the mountain." You can also implement some environmental controls. I am allergic to dust and dust mites, so I make sure to clean my house every weekend and I encase my bedding. I also invested in a commercial-grade hypo-allergenic vacuum cleaner. In addition, I use an air filter in my bedroom to remove pollen and other allergens. Have you read Advocate's posts on the subject? They are very helpful.

My allergy doc (ENT) tested me for 200 different environmental allergens. It took about 2 hours to complete the testing. Not to be pessimistic, but don't get your hopes up too high that this will be the cure all. I took immunotherapy shots for over 3 years and never saw any improvement with my dry eye. I had hoped it would, because one of the first opthamologists I saw said my allergies could indeed be a cause for my DE, but for me personally, the shots didn't do anything. So if you're doing this primarily to treat your dry eye, beware, it's a very expensive and time consuming commitment, and might not help. Again, not to sound pessimistic, just a little warning.

[Ariel]

On the ocular allergy route

So I'm now going to try these three eye drops in the hopes of finding a brand that can complement the benefits of Zyrtec.

Reactine,
Elestat,
Opticrom

Check this post:
http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...7365#post57365

[Nanerpus]

Just chiming in here, I'm scheduled for allergy testing in about a month. I've had dry eyes for a few years now, was tested for all the autoimmune etc and that came back clear. I have aqueous deficiency, and all summer my eyes have been very bloodshot and about 4 weeks ago my eyes began to really itch, get red in the corners, and burn. Within a few hours they were blood red and awfu feeling.

I went in to see my Opthamologist and he said they were having an allergic response. I had previously seen him before for episcleritis but knew this time something was different. I'm on Pataday drops now, and also Alrex 2 drops a day to get the inflammation down. It's fall and I live in NH and I guess there are a lot of allergens, but I have not been allergic as far as I've known in the past.

I'm wondering if I should try a Zyrtek tablet to see if it helps? Would you suggest waiting until I am off the steroid drops to be really able to see if it makes a difference?

Thanks for your information!

[Ariel]

Nanerpus--- I hear of people taking meds that don't work and they do it for a long time before they begin seeing an improvement. My eyes tell me what works and what doesn't a lot sooner or at least they did with FML and Zyrtec.

I'm now taking Zytrec and what I believe to be "Vivitrin which in Spain it is called "Cusicrom fuerte", which is an ophthalmic solution, once of twice a day. The main active ingredient is cromogrific acic. At night I take compounded cyclosporine at 1% with lyposomes, Omega 3, fish oil, supplements and 100mg of doxy.

Zyrtec tablets are taken as an anti-allergy drug. I started using it while on FML because I was afraid of becoming dependent on it. For a few days I was on both. FML did work so I didn't know that Zyrtec did until I stopped using FML. If the steroids are working for you, as it happened with me, and you begin using Zyrtec you will be in the same situation I was so I'd recommend that you use it alone.

FML brings down the inflammation but it does nothing to attack the root of the problem. I would think relief to DES may come from working on the allergy component as well as the symptoms.

[Nanerpus]

Nanerpus--- I hear of people taking meds that don't work and they do it for a long time before they begin seeing an improvement. My eyes tell me what works and what doesn't a lot sooner or at least they did with FML and Zyrtec.

I'm now taking Zytrec and what I believe to be "Vivitrin which in Spain it is called "Cusicrom fuerte", which is an ophthalmic solution, once of twice a day. The main active ingredient is cromogrific acic. At night I take compounded cyclosporine at 1% with lyposomes, Omega 3, fish oil, supplements and 100mg of doxy.

Zyrtec tablets are taken as an anti-allergy drug. I started using it while on FML because I was afraid of becoming dependent on it. For a few days I was on both. FML did work so I didn't know that Zyrtec did until I stopped using FML. If the steroids are working for you, as it happened with me, and you begin using Zyrtec you will be in the same situation I was so I'd recommend that you use it alone.

FML brings down the inflammation but it does nothing to attack the root of the problem. I would think relief to DES may come from working on the allergy component as well as the symptoms.

Thanks so much for your insight. I also want to get to the root of the problem ,rather than just fixing the symptoms. While Alrex is not a super strong steroid, I really don't like the idea of being on it even though it helps tremendously. Hence the allergy testing. I've also invested in allergen fighting bed linens and several air purifiers, and I'm washing my eyes out several times a day with PF drops. I'm trying honey (1 teaspoon injested a day) and also have been on a high quality fish oil/flax blend for months. I'm so sick of my eye problems. First it was just dry eye, then I got episcleritis, and now allergies. I'm starting to get depressed

I think I will wait until I'm off the Alrex and then try the Zyrtec and see what happens. I'm also getting lower plugs in about 3 weeks, once I'm off the Alrex and hopefully those might help as my tear deficiency makes me really dry.

[EllMitcho]

Hi All

I read this with interest and decided to try something close to Zyrtec, I found these
http://www.naturalhealthpharmacy.com...&cat=0&page=1#

which appear to be on offer - I got 6 x 30 tabs delivered to the uk for £3.39 (seems cheap to me?)

They appear to have the same active ingredient as Zyrtec - Cetirizine @ 10mg

Hope this helps someone and I haven't contravined any board rules posting this link?

Ell