dry eyes from computer useage

[jakejohnson007]

I started taking Allegra and STJ's Wort at nearly the same point in time, and I have noticed a small increase in dry eye. I think this is due, mainly if not almost wholly, to the Allegra. The possible interaction between these two, I'm not sure how serious it is. I wish there was more information upon this subject. If such an interaction exists in the liver where the same enzymes are used to break both drugs down, would it damage the efficacy of either drug?

The Allegra has been really helpful in allowing me to breathe easier. Last school year I went through about 15 boxes of tissues. Now, I've only been through about 1/4 box since Allegra. For this reason, it will be difficult for me to consider stopping Allegra.

dianat, I noticed you live in the Cincinnati area. I'm also here, over on the east side. Do you have any favorite optomitrists, esp. ones that have experience in CVS? Any good stores to pick up products like the goggles and eye drops?

Thx, I feel like I'm making headway.
- Jake

[dianat]

My fellow Buckeye,

I'm in West Chester. The humidity has been helpful, has it not?

I don't have any favorite eye docs in this area, but I do have a least favorite eye surgeon.

Come to think of it, if you're looking for a decent contact lens guy, I kinda liked Joe Thoma - Thoma and Sutton near Kenwood Mall. He doesn't have anything to offer a struggling dry eye patient, but could help with contacts or glasses. He described LASIK as "playing with fire" to me when he saw my eyes. He's not a fan of the surgery making him okay in my book. Every other optometrist I'd seen in the last decade recommended LASIK to me.

Regarding an ophthalmologist, I see one in Louisville who's a dry eye specialist at the U. of Louisville. He would be your best bet in these parts I think.

Where are you attend school?

Diana

[jakejohnson007]

University of Notre Dame .

I have an optomitrist appt. Friday, we'll see how this goes.

[jakejohnson007]

Hmm...

Well, I saw one optomitrist friday. He was kinda arrogant and so he wasn't listening really well to what I was saying. However, he had some ideas. He thinks my problem is kind of complex. He said that I have a convergence problem, he did some test and said I had '13 for convergence. He gave me some systane eye drops to try but wouldn't hear of moisture chamber goggles. He didn't do the Schirmer or any other dry eye tests, so I scheduled an appointment with another doctor for monday. We'll see what my scores are.

I've been using the Systane eye drops extensively today (like one in each eye every 5 minutes), and I can't really tell how well it's helping. When I put them in, there is an initial burning sensation, which dissipates after a second or two. My eyes are still SORE, especially the inner corners, the parts that are usually sore. It's really hard for me to post this right now because I feel so burnt out on a computer all the time. My headache, located in the fore of my frontal lobe, won't quit.

With the eye drops, some spills onto my eye lids and is clumping up my eyelashes. Am I inserting them wrong, or is a little overspill normal?

The dry eye tests on monday will be really enlightening. I want to shake this headache though...

Also, the inside corners and beneath my eyes, this area of skin has been very dark for the past year straight. I think I've ruled out allergies as the cause of this, because being on Allegra for a month and Clarinex for a month didn't help. I had to quit Allegra and Clarinex because of dry eye.

Let me retell my story a bit. I never used to experience eye soreness. In highschool, halfway through, I subscribed to this online computer game. Up until this point, I had played console video games (connected to a TV and you sit like 10 feet away) extensively without any problems. I played this computer game approximately 6 hours a day every day straight. I know this is disgusting, but I was addicted (I've since given it up and basically given up video games). Anyways, after about a year of this I started to experience eye soreness after playing the game for an hour or two. Another year later, I quit because my eyes hurt so bad even after playing the game a few minutes. Now, I can't even browse a forum or Amazon.com on a computer for more than a few minutes without experiencing significant eye discomfort. I have gotton migranes before from computer useage, and I have a constant headache whenever I am on the computer.

The optomitrist said to do a certain eye exercise to strengthen my eyes and combat my convergence problem. He said to bring a number 2 pencil to my eyes, concentrating on the number 2 inscribed on the side of the pencil, halting whenever I saw two number 2's. Then, pause, let my eyes readjust, and continue to bring the pencil closer. In the doctor's office, I had trouble performing this exercise. However, I had gone to the doctor after a few hours of computer useage so that my eyes would be in their normal state when I had my eye exam. Now that I am at home, I can bring the pencil all the way to my nose without seeing double...

My eyes are so sore... the inside corners of my eyes. They're not really red. I think I have some vision condition, but I can't figure it out.

I'll post again after my dry eye tests on Monday.

[Lucy]

The dry eye tests on monday will be really enlightening.

You may be expecting too much from the dry eye tests. I don't want to have you think you'll walk out of the office with your "cure" or even exactly how dry your eyes are.

More likely, it'll take a number of visits over a period of time and more than one test to compare to see how your numbers are. Then, many doctors say the Schirmer's test is not accurate. That's where they put litmus paper in your eye and have you close your eyes with the paper hanging out.

It's most effective if your eyes are numbed with drops first and then given the 5 minute Schirmer's test. Without anesthesia, the eyes are more likely to have "reflex tearing" and give you a good number on your score. Good luck and let us know.

Lucy

[jakejohnson007]

Progress

Had a 2 hour exam today at the doctor's, and am making progress.

First of all, Dr. Corcoran is a really great guy. He was very friendly, and was comprehensive and thorough in the diagnosis. He spent 2 hours in and out of a room with me; I've never had such a thorough visit to a doc.

He said that I have astigmatism and convergence issues. However, he does not know the extent of these issues. He squeezed my eyelid with tweezers and what came out was what he described as "cheese whiz". Looks like my meiobian glands have similar keratinization issues as my sebaceous glands. He said this is heavily due to poor metabolism of the American diet. Even though I don't eat a lot of fast food, I do indeed consume heavy amounts of processed and refined carbs and sugars.

So, I have Blepharitis. On a scale of 1 to 4, Doc says I have at least a 3. He gave me medicated eye drops and said to come back in 2 weeks. Also, he wants me to take Fish Oil for its Omega-3 fatty acids as a dietary supplement. Finally, I'm supposed to wash my eyelids with a cotton ball soaked in baby shampoo solution.

Once the blepharitis has cleared up at least somewhat, he will be able to gain a better idea of the extent of my astigmatism, dry eye, convergence, etc.

By the way, my Schirmer score was inconclusive. It didn't point at severe dry eye, but Doc said I probably have 'secondary' dry eye as a complication of other things going on.

The bad news is my problem is pretty complex. The good news is that progress is taking place. yeehaw

Thanks, forum.

[dianat]

Sound like you're getting somewhere. I hope you get the bleph/meibomian gland issues under control soon. I think you'll find a much better place, Jake. Best of luck.

Diana

[Rebecca Petris]

Hey, since you're a computer geek, you could write yourself a program that every few seconds flashes the word "blink" on your screen. If it works for you, maybe Rebecca will sell the program for you en masse on DEZ! What a great idea!

Diana,

I liked this idea so much that DEZAdmin (the Almighty) and I put our heads together and, as always, he came up with a solution that I really liked.

Bonuses:

1) It's free!

2) You don't have to install any software on your computer!

Check it out at this link.

If you guys like it, we may just develop a little collection of them.

[dianat]

Rebecca and Eye Almighty,

That's the BEST! I love it! The big eyeball is better than the word blink! How cool!

D

[mary kenny badami]

What a riot! A huge blue eyeball has been blinking at me every ten seconds for the past several hours from the lower left side of my screen. Perhaps a person would eventually stop noticing it, but for today, it's a pretty evident reminder to blink.

Rebecca, if you're serious about developing a "collection," and if you're taking votes for variations on the theme, I would love to download an eyeball close to my own eye color . . . not green-green, but hazel-green . . . now, that's not saying that I'm ungrateful for what you and The Almighty have done so far . . .

[dianat]

...yeah, and after I deliver this baby I'll need a flashing note to remind me to tighten my adominal muscles every ten seconds or so...

[jakejohnson007]

well then

lol that program is great, I love it.

Here's an update on me. My eye doctor says I have a few little things going on but nothing serious that needs to be addressed immediately. My dry eye is not bad enough to require special treatment. I'm going to go back to my eye doctor in a year to get a check up and reevaluation. I will be on a medication for a few months that may aggravate dry eye as a side effect. Once this wears off, I will be in a position to clearly judge how I should approach this. In the meantime I'll do exercises to help with the convergence issue.

So, I guess I'll disappear from this board for about a year. Thanks you guys, for pointing me in helpful directions. We'll see how it all pans out. It's now August; time to hit the books, time to forget about this for awhile and enjoy college.

Well, thanks and goodbye for now.
- Jake

[dianat]

Best of luck to you, Jake. Enjoy school. I'm glad you are able to put us "behind you". I love to see people graduate off a bulletin board such as this one.

Diana

[Guest]

You wanted more big eyeballs, Mary? You got 'em!

Take a look here. I even made a green one, especially for you, Mary.

Diana, I'm afraid I can't meet your other request, without running afoul of the NSFW police.

[mary kenny badami]

Thanks, Almighty . . . you're the greatest! (but then, by definition, of course you are) . . .