Dry eye and allergies

[sazy123]

Hi

I have been to another doctor, dont know why i bothered, he has given me steroid drops again, even though they didnt work the last time which was for one month.. But he wants me to be on them for a longer time coz he says i have imflammation on my lids 'ruth surface' with allergies (the others doctors have said the allergy thing 2) with could be supressing the goblet cells.. Now i believe this to be a valid explanation as to why i have evaporative dry eye etc, but do you reckon steroids will work again coz they didnt the previous time that i was on them? How long is enough time to know that steroids are working or not, 1 month or longer??
This guy wants me to be on them for a few months and a lower dose after 1 month, but i am sceptical.. coz the last steroids didnt work for 1 month..does anyone else have allergies as well?, what way round is it most likely: dry eye causing allergies (inflammation) or allergies (inflammation) suppressing goblet cells which causes evaporative dry eye?

Had yet again no luck with anything else.

Now i dont know what to do dont know if i should trust him or not..i feel like ive already been down this road!!

[Rebecca Petris]

Topical steroid is a widely accepted and often effective treatment in many of these cases. I would follow your doctor's advice/instructions on this one and be patient and see what happens. In order to be certain what the benefit is or isn't, I'd really suggest trying to be as consistent as possible throughout that period with anything else you're doing (eg drops, supplements, compresses etc) so that the only real variable is the steroid.

[sazy123]

So you dont think after 1 month you would know if it worked or not?

[teartest]

Steroids for allergy

Rebecca has given you sound advice. And her recommended protocol will show you if the steroid helps.

I would go to an allergist to try and establish what is causing your problem. Remember, allergic insults are cumulative so you will be somewhat resolved from just the fact that winter is coming (the season with the fewest allergic insults).

Allergic people are not "cured" (until you grow out of your allergies, or you get immunotherapy from an allergist), but they can be controlled and forced into remission.

I would also suggest that you do a Google Scholar search. I do not know of any medical claim approved by the FDA that steroids can cure ocular allergies, but at least that search will show you any studies to that effect.

[sazy123]

Thanks tear test, this was some time ago, since then ive been on steroids 3 times and didnt noticed a difference.

I have been told the problem is allergies by different doctors, but i have had three skin tests- which showed up nothing, except one which showed up a mild hayfever allergy- but not enough to be causing all year round severe dry eye. I have also tried eliminating allergies with an airpurifyer and eliminating dust from my room etc- made no difference. I also have tried a few allergy drops- which did nothing, tried 'pat a day'. I was on sodium chromogate and rapitil for months.

I was wondering about contact allergies, i have not had a patch test. I am suspecting an allergy to my nickel, i have a fixed dental brace behind on upper teath which ive had for years, one of my tonsils has been enlarged and they get inflamed easily. But dental piece this is not in 'contact' which my eyes.. So this wouldnt be causing the problem? do your eyes have to be in contact with the allergen or can they react to something systematically with out showing signs of the allergen anywhere else in the body?

what other contact allergies, dont have to have direct contact with the eyes, but cause constant year round symptoms. Dust was the obvious one, but that didnt appear to be the problem. I have no food allergies, had a test for that also.

I suspect ocular rosacea, which presents the same signs as allergies- inflamed eyelids.

I know i do have allergies because i have some mild papillary under top eyelids. But i have always suspected that it wasnt causing the MGD because i dont seem to be allergic to anything!

[jlg_uk]

Don't know if this would be the case for you - but from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atopy :

Atopy (/ˈętəpi/; Greek ἀτοπία - placelessness) or atopic syndrome is an allergic hypersensitivity[1] affecting parts of the body not in direct contact with the allergen.