MGD/my visit to Dr. Latkany

[Rebecca Petris]

There was a tip about this in Dr. ******'s book.... I don't have the book handy and don't want to misquote him, but I think he said something like the people who tend to get a lot of relief from saline rinses are likely to have an allergy component to their ocular surface problems.

[NYer]

From Dr. ******'s book:
"If your eyes are dramatically, if only temporarily, soothed after using an eye rinse, you probably have an allergy. Eye rinses, which wash away allergens, are saline solutions, not lubricants, and typically will not significantly improve dry eye."

That said, I don't find that sort of relief from eye rinses and I, apparently, do have allergies.

[TRiBaL]

Well what if the saline is soothing your inflammation and thats the reason why you feel relief. So I don't know if its possible you can distinguish the differences unless you don't have inflammation at all and still feels soothing.

[NYer]

Me thinks the only way to know for sure is to have the doctor tell you. Apparently I have some tell-tale signs in my eyes that are typical for allergies (I don't know what).

[GLS]

Saline rinses along with just washing my eyes out with water always make my eyes feel good, I'll usually do it in the morning an evening before I put my drops in, do my routine etc. I have an eye doc appt on the 4th I'll have to bring up this allergy thing.

[Rory]

Me thinks the only way to know for sure is to have the doctor tell you. Apparently I have some tell-tale signs in my eyes that are typical for allergies (I don't know what).

A Doctor telling me that i have allergies does not make me sure about anything. It only tells me that this Dr thinks this is the case. Unless they can tell me what I am allergic to...and then I can deal with this and see an improvement.. I will remain highly skeptical of the allergy card.

[NYer]

Yes Rory, I totally agree, but there's two parts to that equation:

1. The eye doctor tells you that you have an allergy issue
2. You go to the allergist and get tested to confirm it.

The thing is, if you just go to the allergist and find out you have an allergy, it doesn't necessarily mean that the allergy is affecting your eyes.
I was unaware that my eye issues were allergy-related. And the thing is, I also have rosacea, bleph, and MGD. So not all, if any, symptoms that I have noticed would tell me that it's one or the other. However, when I saw Dr. Latkany the other day, he saw some little white things inside my eyelids that he said are an obvious sign (to him) of allergic conjunctivitis. I would never have been able to come up with that on my own.

(Oh, and by the way, the last two moron opthomols that I went to told me that those white things were nothing. Dr. Latkany, on the other hand said they are not only not "nothing" but they could be a problem if not addressed. So, of course, going to a GOOD doctor is a bigger help!)

[TRiBaL]

have you guys ever heard of GPC? Because I use have that and that has something to do with allergies and eye contacts.

[Dee]

Saline rinses

From Dr. ******'s book:
"If your eyes are dramatically, if only temporarily, soothed after using an eye rinse, you probably have an allergy. Eye rinses, which wash away allergens, are saline solutions, not lubricants, and typically will not significantly improve dry eye."

That said, I don't find that sort of relief from eye rinses and I, apparently, do have allergies.

I have been doing the saline rinses since my hayfever symptoms started with the humid summer weather.My eyes get dry also.The symptoms I had were pressure between the ears and my ears would plug.I have gotten relief from the pressure but no luck with the eyes.I see an allergist at the end of August as I believe my dry eye stems from an allergy.Patanol helped me but only for about 6 days.I have no itching either.Can you put castor oil drops in your eyes?

[skygoddess]

You also need to differentiate between types of allergies. Contact allergies are different than say , hay fever.
The testing is done differently also.
A patch or patches are applied to the skin then 48 hours later taken off and a reading done . Then after another 36 hours, a second reading is taken.
You can have a contact allergy to nickle for example, touch your car keys , and touch your eyes, but not have a reaction till another day.

Makes it very difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of the problem with out good testing.

I had a test for the most common 29 items, 3 positives. Only one was a strong reaction. Black rubber mixture. I never realized how many things had rubber grips before.
(My suitcase handle for a start)
I knew I was worse at work. Never thought my suitcase might be to blame!
My Dr wants me to go to another Dr for more extensive testing
Over 200 items. ( I don't know where all those patches will fit )

BTW- My eyes don't itch.
If you don't get better from other treatments, push for the testing.
It might help eliminate some things anyway.

[cocomango]

My eyes don't itch but I know that allergies are to blame for a lot of my eye problems.

Right now, I'm seeing an allergist, an opthamologist and a dermatologist.

Allerist says: I'm allergic to trees, grass and weeds and I'm currently taking weekly shots.
Dermatologist says: I have rosacea
Opthamologist says: I've got blepharitis

It was such a revelation to me that these conditions were all related.

I take zyrtec and flonase daily. I really should be putting zaditor in my eyes daily but they dry out my eyes. My opthamologist says that my blepharitis is under control but it will take a lot more time to address my allergies.