Iris is turning white..could it be all those eye drops?

[Missie]

I noticed this morning (my eyes are brown) that the very top of my iris' are turning a white color, which is freaking me out.
I was wondering if anyone knows what might be going on.
The doc hasn't said anything, but then again, I just noticed it today. I was wondering if all those eye drops are doing this... or does this mean I'll be blind or something from all this dry eye problem. I've seen blind people with their eye all white looking and I'm really scared. I hate calling the doc because I know they dread my phone calls....

[odydnas]

Missie, I've been on this board for quite a wihle now, and I have yet to see a post about iris changing color. I have no idea whether or not this is cause for alarm. So to be on the safe side, I urge you to see your doctor asap, just in case it is an indication of something serious. If you do not like your doctor or he/she does not take your seriously, find a new one. Rebecca usually has a list of good docs, or check out the Plug a Doc section.

Good luck and keep us updated!

[Missie]

Odydnas
Thank you for your reply ~
Well if it's weird and it's going to happen ~ you know it's going to happen to me. I have the weirdest stuff happen to me for some reason. The only thing I worry about going bad are my eyes ~ if it were something else I wouldn't worry so much.
This is about the 6th eye doc in the last couple of years. The one I'm going to now was highly recommended by eye magazines and various websites.

This morning I woke up and my left eye (which is the good one I can see 100% out of) was so so blurry and it took two drops of FreshKote and 30 minutes of crying and the blurry finally went away.
I am so scared of losing my sight to all this mess. I don't know what I did to deserve all this.

[Gretchen]

Do you have allergies? These sound like they may be Trantas dots.

Gretchen

[Missie]

Gretchen ~ you are correct... it's allergies...

I have allergies under my eyelids and on the front of my eye and probably in my eye... why couldn't it be my nose.... that would be easier I would think... Good grief I cannot win; the hits just keep on coming.

I'm on antibiotics for I don't know how long; I have a years worth of refills.

And prednisolone drops, which I'm scared to use because of it being a steroid. (doesn't steroid drops dry your eyes out too?)
So I don't know if I'm going to use these or not. I'd rather not since they cause so many side effects, but if they help inflammation that would be so so so so nice. Unless anyone knows of anything that would help allergies without steroid drops (or OTC allergy drops that would turn my eyes into raisins).

[irish eyes]

Missie

What strength Prednisolone were you prescribed? Yes, they are steroids and they should be used under supervision.

I have used them over the years for another condition that occurs at the back of my right eye - Uveitis, sometimes called Iritis. When using them, they should be tapered off gradually - hence the need for supervision if you are unfamiliar with them.

I had no choice but to use high doses of Pred. as it was the only stuff that would quell the inflammation of Iritis. I might have lost the sight in one eye had I not - the only legacy is a cataract and I can live with that!

I now occasionally use Pred. 0.5% minims for short periods of time if I am going through a bad patch because of the dry eye issues. The left eye is the worst so if my right eye isn't that bad - I use the drops only on one side. Perhaps the doctor intended you to use them just for a few weeks?

[Missie]

Hey Irish Eyes,
It's Omnipred says 1% on the front.
The writing on the back of the bottle is to small for me to read.

I'm sorry about the Uveitis you have to deal with, I used to work with a girl who had that and she couldn't work for like a week, she said it was terribly painful.

So are you going to have surgery for your cataract? I just know that people I've spoken with while waiting in the eye docs office said once they had that surgery they can see much better. But if you have dry eyes, can you have surgery on your eyes?

Does the Pred make your eyes more dry? I was just wondering, yep I'm a worrier and a scaredy(sp?) cat.

I'm suppose to use 1 drop at night before I go to bed (just in my right eye). My right eye is so painful. It looks better than the left one and it's the one that hurts the most. Isn't that crazy....

I have to go back in two weeks... and I wish I had the .5% instead of the 1%. I guess I've had such terrible experience with drops becuase I'm allergic to most everything now. I mean like as far as preservatives go. Last time I used steriods it made my eye feel like it was going to explode right out of the socket...

Thank you so much Irish Eyes for all your help.

[irish eyes]

Hi again Missie

That's double the strength then. It's what I use when I have Uveitis and if I'm unlucky to have a really bad occurrence, I could be on a 2 hourly dose. I used to Uveitis a few times a year so the local hospital was like a second home. I haven't heard that it makes dry eye any worse - it's the pressure in the eye that has to be watched, hence the concern.

As you mentioned a bottle, I assume you are using stuff that contains preservative. Are you able to acquire single use vials which are preservative free? My eyes are sensitive to most things these days too. I've not managed to find an eye drop yet that doesn't sting and irritate.

My cataract doesn't really bothers me althugh I HATE to have my photograph taken. The camera makes that eye look much paler than the other one -and just a bit odd! (So it's vanity really.) Dry eye on the other hand is a completely different matter because it never goes away and it affects me (and so many of us) far, far more.

Things work differently here in the UK but is it possible for you to speak to someone ahead of your next hospital appointment, just to get some reassurance on this. Could you get 0.5% preservative free drops in the meantime? That way, when you see your doctor next time, you can asssess whether steroids have helped at all with the inflammation. You should have your eye pressure taken as well -

Take care now.

[Missie]

Hey Irish Eyes,

Thank you for all the information. Bless you ~ I sure hope that Uveitis doesn't come back. I just don't know what causes all this stuff.

I have something in vials called Sirion Therapeutics, but I cannot find anything about that on the Internet except it's for cataract surgery and it seems to be a newer drug. I'm scared to use that too.
I'm not sure why they (docs) keep pushing steroids for eyes, surely there is something comparable.

Thanks again!

[irish eyes]

Good morning Missie

I hope that Uveitis keeps at bay for a while too. I don't know why I got it in the first place; it can be linked with a host of other complaints but nothing was conclusive. There are even theories that it could be down to a virus. It preceded my severe dry eye condition but there didn't seem to be a connection with that either. Eyes might must be my weak point.

I know that over the counter antihistamines can worsen symptoms and cause the eyes to get dryer. Have they worked out what you might be allergic to?

I took a look at the website you mentioned (Sirion Therapeutics) Were you given Cyclosporine?

[Missie]

Hey Irish Eyes,

I understand about they eyes being "the weak point".
The previous eye doc I saw told me that during stressful times some people get high blood pressure or gastro problems and mine is eye problems she said.
Then it just seemed like that doc concentrated more on that factor than actually helping me with my eye problems.

The little vials are very difficult to read, but when I flipped them over it looks like they read diflupradnste (sp?) it's difficult to see, but the Sirion Therapeutics for some reason was easier to see. The difupradnste is in tiny lettering.

I was scared to even try over-the-counter antihistamine drops. The doc I'm seeing now told me it is more than likely the preservatives in the drops, but then I cannot use non-preservative drops (OTC) either (feels like my iris is on fire with those). I don't have a job/insurance (since the end of Feb.) and cannot pay for allergy testing. I've had allergy testing in the past with another eye doc because it seemed any drop I used at the time caused blisters around my eyes (like where the eye lashes grow out) and found I'm allergic to neomycin & propylene glycol which are in some eye drops among tons of other things unfortunately. Then also I found propylene glycol is in make-up, lotions and even anti-freeze & break fluid for your car. (I thought that was interesting, it's used to keep moisture in products ~ something like that).

Thank you again so much for all your help

Going to visit the folks today since it's Father's Day. I dread going because I do not have really dark sunglasses that I need, and my photophobia gets the best of me when the sun is out. I was hoping it would rain today

[magoo]

Difluprednate

Hi Missie,
I googled "diflupradnste" and found " Difluprednate" which is a corticosteroid developed by Sirion Therapeutics. If you google "difluprednate sirion therapeutics" there are a lot of entries about it. Hope this helps.

I also found it surprising how many cosmetic products, shampoos etc. have propylene glycol in them. It's found in some antifreeze, but claims not to be toxic like ethelyne glycol. I still don't like the idea of putting it anywhere on my body.

[irish eyes]

Hi Missie
Hi Magoo

Your observations of Propylene Glycol were very interesting! Missie - when you said that you had problems with blisters around your eyelashes, it struck a chord. I have the same thing and I had only been thinking that these seem to get worse if I used lid scrubs.

I consciously stopped using them as often and when I did, it was only on the eye that was particularly bad at the time. I was diligent in rinsing it off but a few hours later, the eye seemed to be a bit messy.

Now then - I checked the ingredients of both Lid Care and Supranettes and they both contain this. The Supranette website refers to `tissues soaked in natural plant extract....' which would lead one to believe that nothing at all could go wrong if one used them. It even uses a photo of a woman with a child to convey the trust we should have in using them !!! It might well be an organic compound but I think it has been giving my eyes a bit more grief than they need. It's back to salt water then.

http://www.natural-skincare-authorit...NE-GLYCOL.html

Missie - I hope Father's Day went well. Today in the UK is cloudy but I think it's a day for shades anyway.

[msienkiewicz]

Every day is a day for shades!

Melissa

[Missie]

Every day is a day for shades!

Melissa

You are right ~ as I still have to wear them when it's cloudy too
(and when I watch cartoons LOL ~ cause they are brighter than regular T.V. shows )