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It is some time since I posted anything on this website. Since then I have explored a number of treatments for my eyes (described by my specialist as excruciatingly dry and certainly at the far end of the dry eye spectrum). I use Celluvisc eye drops, the individual sachets which don’t have any preservative. At night I use both the Celluvisc and Lacrilube, which in the UK is preservative-free.
I follow a careful eye-hygiene programme: twice a day I repeatedly soak pads of cotton wool in hot water and hold them over my eyes for 5 minutes, then I used boiled water, cooled but still quite warm, and a cotton bud to clean the lids inside the lashes and then massage the lids with a moistened cotton wool bud. If my lids get gritty I increase the number of times I do this, I often do it three times (at one point I did it 5 times a day, because the blepharitis had got so bad).
As well as the hygiene routine I had punctual plugs inserted, which helped a great deal. Then I tried Omega-3 oils, which I thought may have helped a small amount, so I keep on having them. Then I tried acupuncture and Chinese medicine which didn’t help at all (I did try them for several weeks). I tried to buy some Panoptx glasses but was unable to buy them anywhere in Europe, so I asked for help at the Optometry Department at the Oxford Eye Hospital. They didn’t stock Panoptx either, and apparently cannot stock them, but they did have some frames which covered the eye more than ordinary glasses. I chose a pair of Recspecs, which I immediately found helped me quite a lot. I think that the Panoptx would be really worth trying, and now I have got some improvement, I feel I could cope with a transatlantic flight – although I might still have to shut my eyes much of the time.
Meanwhile the punctal plugs, which helped so much, kept falling out and when one of them fell out after only 6 days I decided to have the puncta on the lower eyelids cauterised. This operation is not a pleasant experience, but it has helped me the most. After getting the glasses I had to put the drops in about 26 times a day on average, but since the operation it has decreased to about 20 times a day. Before either of these improvements, in dry places (such as a car, and especially an aircraft) I couldn’t cope and ended up having to shut my eyes – sometimes I would just go to bed early. Outside in rainy weather is the best environment. (Annoyingly, the air conditioning at the Oxford Eye Hospital makes it one of the worst places to be!)
For several years I have had extensive dry patches on my cornea, but last time I went to the clinic there were no dry patches to be seen! In fact it may be that the focal length of my eye has changed because the cornea is in better shape. I ordered new multifocal lenses for my glasses and by the time they came my eyes had changed so the lenses were no longer correct. I have been advised to wait another couple of months to see if the eyes are stabilized before getting another lot of lenses, and have had “contour maps” of my corneas made to check on this.
Thank you to all those people who have given me advice. It really is worth persevering to try to improve one’s condition as much as possible. Incidentally, after the cauterisation, I haven’t suffered from weepy eyes; but it is something to be cautious about; if you have tried plugs and don’t get weepy eyes with plugs, then maybe it is for you.
I follow a careful eye-hygiene programme: twice a day I repeatedly soak pads of cotton wool in hot water and hold them over my eyes for 5 minutes, then I used boiled water, cooled but still quite warm, and a cotton bud to clean the lids inside the lashes and then massage the lids with a moistened cotton wool bud. If my lids get gritty I increase the number of times I do this, I often do it three times (at one point I did it 5 times a day, because the blepharitis had got so bad).
As well as the hygiene routine I had punctual plugs inserted, which helped a great deal. Then I tried Omega-3 oils, which I thought may have helped a small amount, so I keep on having them. Then I tried acupuncture and Chinese medicine which didn’t help at all (I did try them for several weeks). I tried to buy some Panoptx glasses but was unable to buy them anywhere in Europe, so I asked for help at the Optometry Department at the Oxford Eye Hospital. They didn’t stock Panoptx either, and apparently cannot stock them, but they did have some frames which covered the eye more than ordinary glasses. I chose a pair of Recspecs, which I immediately found helped me quite a lot. I think that the Panoptx would be really worth trying, and now I have got some improvement, I feel I could cope with a transatlantic flight – although I might still have to shut my eyes much of the time.
Meanwhile the punctal plugs, which helped so much, kept falling out and when one of them fell out after only 6 days I decided to have the puncta on the lower eyelids cauterised. This operation is not a pleasant experience, but it has helped me the most. After getting the glasses I had to put the drops in about 26 times a day on average, but since the operation it has decreased to about 20 times a day. Before either of these improvements, in dry places (such as a car, and especially an aircraft) I couldn’t cope and ended up having to shut my eyes – sometimes I would just go to bed early. Outside in rainy weather is the best environment. (Annoyingly, the air conditioning at the Oxford Eye Hospital makes it one of the worst places to be!)
For several years I have had extensive dry patches on my cornea, but last time I went to the clinic there were no dry patches to be seen! In fact it may be that the focal length of my eye has changed because the cornea is in better shape. I ordered new multifocal lenses for my glasses and by the time they came my eyes had changed so the lenses were no longer correct. I have been advised to wait another couple of months to see if the eyes are stabilized before getting another lot of lenses, and have had “contour maps” of my corneas made to check on this.
Thank you to all those people who have given me advice. It really is worth persevering to try to improve one’s condition as much as possible. Incidentally, after the cauterisation, I haven’t suffered from weepy eyes; but it is something to be cautious about; if you have tried plugs and don’t get weepy eyes with plugs, then maybe it is for you.
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