Are dry eyes always red and bloodshot?

[Flick]

Do you all that have dry eye also have red, bloodshot eyes? A lot of websites that list the side effects of dry eye focus on discomfort and itchiness, and don't mention redness. Just wondering if anyone out there has dry eyes that aren't red.

My eyes are pretty red. I haven't tried steroids yet but I think that may be my next step. All the pollen in the air right now doesn't help either.

PS. I have dry eyes from wearing contact lens.

[southhavenjen]

Yes, my dry eyes are red. When I feel them burning, I know they are very red.

I have been working very hard lately on getting my dry eye under control with various treatments. My eyes are much less red, just kind of "tired looking" now. I really wish I could get the whites of my eyes looking nice and clear and white. The only time I've seen them that white was when I was on steriod drops 3x day. Obviously that's not a treatment that can be sustained, but that's another story...

I do have some very prominent veins in my right eye. They are much more visible than in my left. I think that contributes to the overall tired look in that eye. (My right eye is my "bad" eye as far as dryness goes. ) Those veins never disappeared with the use of steroids as they did in my left eye. I wonder what's up with that?

[kitty]

My eyes are usually red and bloodshot. After working at the computer, my eyes look like they are sunburned! The pollen really is bothering my eyes this year, increasing the redness. I just started on my first course of steroids and that seems to be helping the redness considerably.

[sazy123]

my eyes are not red, the inside of my eye lids (pull them down) are red/imflammed most of the time. But no your dont have to be red..

[SusieD]

Im always confused when I hear how steroids clear up peoples redness - steroids always make my redness worse - it just doesnt add up at all.

[kitty]

It might not be the steroids, but the preservative in the steroid drops that is irritating?

[neil0502]

Flick-

1) Are you a contact lens wearer? That can be one of the primary causes of the redness

http://dro.hs.columbia.edu/cornealnv.htm

2) Go vegetarian ... and see if it helps

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_DocSum

[Flick]

Thanks for the links. I wish I could go vegetarian but I like meat too much.

I wore contacts for many years, but stopped last fall.

Neil - do you have problems with redness?

[neil0502]

Neil - do you have problems with redness?

I used to ... in both eyes ... pretty noticeably. In the last five or so years, though -- and I have no idea why -- it's been much less dramatic. Just occasionally, and primarily only in my right eye.

[Amy09]

i too have problems with redness. and annoyingly, its always worse when i am stressed or nervous, like going out to do something w/ new people. god i hate that. my left eye is definately more red and swollen, which makes sense since it is my bad eye, but basically both my eyes have problems. also, when i wear contacts the redness is worse.

like some other people have said, steroid drops helped me a lot, but they only cleared up my eyes for a fews hours after putting them in, and eventually i had to quit taking the drops.

its frustrating. i wish, if there won't ever be a cure for dry eye in my lifetime, that somehow more people could be educated about dry eye and the symptoms (like redness) you can get from it, so people would understand why my eyes are always red. although i feel like i'm finally learning to live with it, it's still very embaressing at times.

[Eyeproblems]

Yes typically I notice my eyes are worse around the computer thats the biggest problem, it kills my eyes, for some reason the past few days my eyes have not been bothering me as much or not as red, I dont know why, except that my eye doctor put me back on my glaucoma pills which are fine except they make me fall asleep.

Wood fires also hurt my eyes alot, and when I am nervious it can also happen, but I have to be very nervious, I never did understand that one.

Be careful of steroids, thats how this 21 year old ended up with glaucoma from over use of it in my bad eye.

[kaypeeoh]

Flick-

1) Are you a contact lens wearer? That can be one of the primary causes of the redness

http://dro.hs.columbia.edu/cornealnv.htm

2) Go vegetarian ... and see if it helps

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_DocSum

The abstract is 9 years old. In rabbits there was inprovement when they injected genistein subconjunctivally. So if you can't give up meat, maybe the doctor could inject genistein into your eyes.

[Paulie]

I never have red eyes. They are dry though and burns sometimes but the sclera is white as snow.

[Amy09]

wow i wish i was you.

[Mr_Cabot]

Red? Depends on the Mirror

Its hard to tell if my eyes are red or not, as strange as that may sound. Inside my own home with natural light or incandescent lighting my eyes do not appear bloodshot and actually look somewhat healthy. However if I were to walk into a grocery store or sporting goods store with flourescent lighting and look in a mirror my eyes appear extremely bloodshot and I look like I have some serious issues. I always think the cashiers are looking at me saying "whats wrong with this guy".

So I dont know...I would like to believe the natural and incandescent lighting, but I get such mixed mixed reviews from flourescent lighting...Not sure what mirrors to believe...

MrC