dry eyes caused by allergies?

[MaryVa61]

Trac

I think we've talked before, and this may not be what your problem is at all, but... My doctors couldn't figure out whether or not allergies were a part of my problem for many years. My problem eye problem (and sinusitis, cough, etc.) was not seasonal. Allergy skin prick tests negative. Zaditor did not help. Oral antihistamines did not help.

Turned out that I had contact allergies (allergic dermatitis) to a couple of ingredients (formaldehyde and f-releasing agents) in things I used regularly at home, like shampoo, facial cleanser, my unscented laundry detergent, etc. My skin doesn't react as dramatically as my eyes, so I hadn't sought help for that very mild skin problem. Skin allergies cause reactions a couple of days after exposure, and the reaction lasts for a day or two. So, since I was exposed every day to these things, the reaction was constant. Even though I have no explanation for it or verification from doctors, I'm convinced that I am also reacting when exposed to fumes or off-gassing from formaldehyde if someone uses home repair products that contain that. But the fumes also affect my lungs, not just eyes. I have no allergy problems if repairmen allow me to buy formaldehyde-free products for them to use.

It was a corneal specialist who finally told me he really thought I needed allergy tests, then an allergest said he didn't think so but suggested the skin patch test with a dermatologist, and the derm's tests gave me the answer I needed. I don't know if Zaditor (?) usually helps with that, but since I react very badly to BAK, it wouldn't have helped me regardless. My eyes improved within days of throwing out 95% of the liquid products in my home. They imrpoved further with some other dry eye home treatment methods. I'm sure they'll improve more when I can find the right p-free glaucoma drops and get BAK out of my life.

Just some thoughts.

[Trac]

Thanks Mary,

I use to get very bad contact dermatitis years ago. I have it under control now. I am certain that off-gassing bothers my eyes. But it seems to be almost everything that bothers me on bad days and very little bothers me on good days. What do you use if you had to replace your cleaning products? Also what kind of allergies were you tested for at the dermatologist? Some day my eye drops hurt more than others. It is a frustrating battle, fighting a monster that we can not see but going to battle bravely and blindly every day.

[PotatoCakes]

THIS:

Having been sick for many years, I find that when people feel helpless or just don't know what to say or how to help they make suggestions. Whether or not they are valid is another story.

Everyone who doesn't have the problem thinks they can solve your problem with a diagnosis or a solution it seems. I can't tell you how many friends have suggested Restasis to me. I tell them I tried it over 10 years ago and they look at me blankly, "It's been around that long? I thought it was new."

Some dry eyes probably are allergy related, or at at least exacerbated by them but I'm guessing for the bulk of us, on this site, something else is causing our dry eye.

I recently took a 6 day Medrol pack with no improvement; if allergies were causing my dry eye, it most certainly would have made an impact. I have horrible, horrible seasonal (spring/summer) allergies yet my dry eyes are SO much worse in the winter. BAK isn't an issue in my life since I only use preservative-free drops or ideally my serum drops so that's not an issue. I've been off dairy, nut products, stopped using lotions and no improvement.

It's great that your friend is trying to help but it's also ok if you're irritated because he thinks he's solved the world's ills without actually doing so. And if you're not irritated, you're a much better person than I! (=

Mary - Can you tell me what you were tested for (besides BAK)? I went to an allergist and he tested me for pollen, dust, mold and common foods but nothing else. I know it's not likely allergies are my end all be all problem but I wouldn't mind knowing what to get tested for to see if there's something I'm doing that could make it worse. The unscented fabric detergent threw me. What do you use? I thought I was being really good by using unscented / "free" products. I try to be particularly careful with my sheets since my face is in them but if that could be making my issues worse, I definitely want to know!

[MaryVa61]

They tested me with TRUE test, all the panels. Their website lists those allergens and if you click on each you'll get a detailed fact sheet, which the dermatologist gave me on formaldehyde and Quaternium-15 after the test.

http://www.truetest.com/commonallergens.aspx

The doctor told me to also look up info online for additional product lists for my allergens. The most helpful to me were wikipedia (for my cocoa butter allergy) and the product database of NIH, below. You can type in the ingredient name and it lists common household products that contain it.

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm

Before my testing my allergist had been telling me, for years, that all my allergy symptoms were due to dryness. Dry eyes, mucus membranes, mouth, skin, etc. And keeping everything hydrated would make me less senstive to irritants in the environment. He was right about that, but there were actual allergens and not soley irritants involved. So it did help for years, using Ocean nasal gel, lubricating eye drops, natural nasal sprays, etc. I used the more common ones at first that had the usual preservatives, then they stopped working when I became sensistive to BAK and some other things.

After throwing things out, I replaced them with (cleaning products and toiletries) from Whole foods, The Vitamin Shoppe (the bigger ones have some cleaning supplies), Shaklee (online), ENJO (expensive, but the bathroom mitt is worth it) and researched online to find that a few things at my local chain pharmacies and Target are ok (Burt's Bees, Method...). I went to every health food store in town. Once I decided what products I like best, I now order most online through Amazon. My biggest struggle is trying to replace plastic bags. Something about the smell of them is really irritating to my eyes and throat. I had a dramatic reaction years ago to a new, accordian style clothes dryer vent hose and had to replace it with metal. I mostly use glass, metal and paper products and try to avoid flexible plastics. There are some nasty chemicals used to make plastic flexible and those seem to be my problem, not rigid plastics.

But you should really be tested since your allergens could be different than mine. The doctor handed me the wrong sheet at first and it was for rubber allergy. The list of things that contain rubber was alarming. Glad I don't have that allergy in addition to my plastics problem!

Good luck.

[MaryVa61]

Hi PotatoCakes.

The unscented laundry product problem threw me too! I'd always assumed it was the fragrance in the other kinds I was allergic to, and I may have been allergic to that too since they'd break out my skin. But I didn't test as allergic to the fragrance mix. My problem was with the preservatives and Ph-balancers in laundry products, including the unscented ones. I'm alternating now between method, Seventh Generation and Shaklee laundry detergents. And I found anti-static sheets that are chemical-free (they're fabric, reusable) that help a bit with static problems in the dryer.

My derm doc only does the true-test panels for testing, so they told me I may be allergic to other things as well so I have to just pay attention to what is around me that bothers me and should keep a log that will eventually help me identify the other allergens. There's not a commercial test for BAK allergy, but that one was obvious to my eye doctor. There are customized skin patch tests that some allergists can do if you take them a sample of what you need to test for. For instance, I recently saw a "natural, preservative-free" hand sanitizer spray in a store and read the ingredient list and saw it was 100% BAK. Some allergists could use that to test you if you took it to them. Sometime soon I'll seek out an allergist that does the more extensive skin allergy testing, including customized tests. My regular allergist and dermatologist don't do those, but apparantly plenty of allergists do those these days.

The tests you had were not skin patch tests. What you had was for a different type of allergy. Here is a really good description of the different types of allergies (which my allergist had explained to me):

http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/ghaffar/hyper00.htm

Since I have an undiagnosed systemic illness, I may have another type of hypersensitivity too, which is explained on that website. I have funny blood test results but no one yet can figure out what they mean.

Another good brand/website I use for products is EcoDiscoveries.

Mary

[sazy123]

Doc K do you think a metal brace I have in my mouth (behind top teeth) could be causing a systematic allergic reaction to nickel in my eyelids.

So most docs I have seen have said my problem is allergy related (including DR Latkany and Dr Toyos). But ive tried all the drops- pat a day etc with had no improvement. Ive tried to eliminate dust etc from my room. Been on strict diets. Had food allergy tests, skin prick tests and nothing really showed up.

Ive also tried IPL, restasis with no luck.

My inner eyelids are inflamed (conjunctivitis), eye surface is fine, my oil glands are not blocked and my eyes do get better when this inflammation goes down (when i have another illness, i.e. I have a recurring congested throat).

I AM allergic to nickel my ear lobes start burning up when I put in cheap ear rings. And I have had a fixed brace in my mouth since age 16. Eye problems started at 19. I have not eliminated this allergy from my environment.

I know allergies are an auto immune reaction- So I assume if one has another illness in the body the body will focus its defences on this and the allergy wont be as bad. This happens to me all the time (I can go a whole year with great feeling eyes because my throat is bad for example).

I found a case study where a girl experienced chronic allergic conjunctivitis from an orthodontic brace and presented with no other allergic reactions in anywhere else in the body which went away after removal of the brace.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1....460415.x/full

Interestingly it says topical ''Topical ophthalmic therapy had failed to improve the condition, nor was any cause found for her ocular disease''

What do you think?

[MaryVa61]

Sazy,

This thread is archived now, so you may want to re-post your message in the doctor's section. To update what I said above, in relation to your question, the delayed reaction type of hypersensitivity/allergy that can affect the inner lids requires skin patch allergy tests, not skin prick tests. Skin prick tests won't work on that type of allergy.

I had negative skin prick tests at the allergist's office but positive skin patch tests at the dermatologist's office. The fact that you have nickel allergy does increase the chances that you have other skin allergies as well, I think. And they can't test for all substances, but you can be allergic to anything. It may be an allergy to something you put in or near your eyes (an eye drop ingredient, cosmetic ingredient, shampoo ingredient...).

[sazy123]

I could of had skin patch tests a while back but I cancelled the appointment since I thought Id tried to eliminate everything, i dont have enough time to wait 3 months for another NHS appointment, im leaving for the US soon. Ive used non perfumed shampoos etc, washing powder, dont wear make up. Ive done dust and mite elimination - its none of that. I don't know what to do, I don't know if its worth removing this brace, expense etc, I had braces for years before the dry eye symptoms came on, I could actually wear contacts fine for the first few years of having a brace, but I have been sensitive to nickel in earings long before contacts (I remember trying cheep earings), so im thinking its not a nickel allergy since I was wearing braces before i had any problems with dry eye?

Can allergies effect the inner eyelids only- or do they usually effect the eye surface and inner eyelids (all of the conjunctiva)? Only my inner eyelid conjunctiva is affected.

[MaryVa61]

If it's allergy, it could be to just about anything. The patch tests are for the most common skin allergens, but you can be allergic to something else so experimenting and keeping a log can be helpful. I'm not allergic to fragrance, according to my skin patch tests, which is funny since I'd always assumed (as my parents did when I was a child) that it was the source of my skin allergies. So all those years of fragrance-free stuff didn't solve the problem because my allergy was to preservatives/antibacterials, especially formaldehyde-releasing ingredients. I now have a list of those. They were in my fragrance-free shampoo, conditioner, clothing detergent, etc. Many things. I now buy everything at the health food store, the Vitamin Shoppe, Shaklee or EcoDiscoveries online. And I also still check the labels. This change has helped my eyes tremendously, but it was hard work finding new, safe products and not slipping up and bringing a bad product home.

I wore braces and never reacted to those even though I have a bad nickel allergy. My nickel allergy was known by the orthodontist, so I don't know if he used something else or if, like some people, my mouth just isn't as reactive to nickel. But nickel jewelry only bothers my skin, not my eyes. I only mentioned nickel because it's a common skin allergy (around 10+ percent of the population) and if you have that allergy you may also have other skin allergies than can cause trouble for your eyes. It only takes one allergy to something you use daily in your home to cause your eyes to be constantly reacting. Especially if it's a substance in laundry products, toiletries or cosmetics since those will get in your eyes.

My reactions all affected the inside of the lids mostly. They were extremely red. But outer lid only had a tiny bit of purplish red on the upper lids near the lash line.

Let me know if you have other questions. I'll try to answer them.

Mary