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My dry eye problem has been so much better lately that I stopped using the night ointment and all drops.
My dry eye issue started after I had a nickel allergic reaction to a necklace and took a week of oral steriods and then daytime allergy medicine followed by benedryl at night for about a month.
My eyes were extremely itchy on the eye lids at first, not bad inside my eyes, but seemed to get much worse when I started with drops. My eyes were totally dry, I was waking up with what I call bone dry eyes, I felt like there were weird bumps behind my eyeballs, I had keratosis/redness on the whites of my eyes. I was using drops every hour or two.
Scout had said to me that I am allergic to something and it is causing my dry eyes. Scout said theirs were better when they stopped taking drops and used cold compresses. So I decided maybe to go with that route. If I was allergic to something, I decided to remove all possible allergens...my makeup, shampoo, conditioner, detangler, hair moose, face, and eye creams. Plus I started just using drops barely as needed during the day that were preservative free (single use vials), and at night still used the Refresh PM ointment.
After a week or so, I was able to eliminate all drops in my eyes.
What products am I using? Well, I got this Free and Clear shampoo and conditioner that seems to be free of things on the potential allergen list. Makes my hair feel awful, and tough to brush, so I put a little olive oil/water mixture in a spray bottle to use sparingly in my hair to get it brushed after a shower. I got some hair gel from Lori's Natural Foods called Suncoat Natural Styling Gel. I'm still not sure if I might be a tiny bit allergic to it...escentual oils (fragrance) and vitamin E (potentially gluten) are in it. Free and Clear makes a light cream in their line called Vanicream. The ingredients look good.
I'm taking 1 tsp of salmon oil followed by a cup of vitamin c powder in water every now and then. I'm taking fish oil pills in the morning and night, and my vitamin d3 in the morning, which I always did. I'm doing warm, wet washcloth compresses for about 1-4 minutes in the morning and night and follow it with a cold washcloth compress which feels great. I started cutting down on all starches in my diet. I'm replacing spaghetti or rice in dinner and lunch with extra veggies, leaning towards the paleo diet, but not totally. I cut out muffins at breakfast and started eating a hard-boiled egg and a yogurt. I try to eat more whole, unprocessed foods, although I eat dessert, chocolate, and a couple of other things every now and then. I'm drinking Echinacea/Elderberry tea most days. Most days I also have a cup of rooibos/pomegranate tea or green tea of some sort.
After a couple of days of this, I noticed that my eyes were 80% better. Plus, every time I tried wearing the makeup, my eyes got worse again. Especially the mascara. I haven't found totally good makeup to use yet, but I can wear powder and blush every now and then and my eyes don't get too bad. Now, after about a month of not using the products and no eye drops, I'd say my eyes are 95% better, and my eye lids only itch a little every now and then. I'm more sensitive now to when I'm allergic to what people use around me that I'm allergic to and try to avoid people that make my face itch or my throat tickle.
I just had a TRUE patch test (truetest.com) at my dermatologist last week and besides being very, very allergic to nickel sulfate (which I figured), I'm also sensitive to fragrance mix, potassium dichromate, Neomycin Sulfate, Cobalt Dichloride, and Urea. I think I'm allergic to the preservative in eye drops, but I don't think they tested for it.
So that's my story. I never started using the Rx drops that just came in the mail, restasis. I'm 95% + better now, and although I'd like to find makeup I can use more, at least my eyes feel better most of the time and I'm not using drops or night ointment. Plus, as an added positive, my skin on my face used to be red and blotchy, especially on my chin, and it isn't anymore.
I hope your eyes feel as well as mine do!
My dry eye issue started after I had a nickel allergic reaction to a necklace and took a week of oral steriods and then daytime allergy medicine followed by benedryl at night for about a month.
My eyes were extremely itchy on the eye lids at first, not bad inside my eyes, but seemed to get much worse when I started with drops. My eyes were totally dry, I was waking up with what I call bone dry eyes, I felt like there were weird bumps behind my eyeballs, I had keratosis/redness on the whites of my eyes. I was using drops every hour or two.
Scout had said to me that I am allergic to something and it is causing my dry eyes. Scout said theirs were better when they stopped taking drops and used cold compresses. So I decided maybe to go with that route. If I was allergic to something, I decided to remove all possible allergens...my makeup, shampoo, conditioner, detangler, hair moose, face, and eye creams. Plus I started just using drops barely as needed during the day that were preservative free (single use vials), and at night still used the Refresh PM ointment.
After a week or so, I was able to eliminate all drops in my eyes.
What products am I using? Well, I got this Free and Clear shampoo and conditioner that seems to be free of things on the potential allergen list. Makes my hair feel awful, and tough to brush, so I put a little olive oil/water mixture in a spray bottle to use sparingly in my hair to get it brushed after a shower. I got some hair gel from Lori's Natural Foods called Suncoat Natural Styling Gel. I'm still not sure if I might be a tiny bit allergic to it...escentual oils (fragrance) and vitamin E (potentially gluten) are in it. Free and Clear makes a light cream in their line called Vanicream. The ingredients look good.
I'm taking 1 tsp of salmon oil followed by a cup of vitamin c powder in water every now and then. I'm taking fish oil pills in the morning and night, and my vitamin d3 in the morning, which I always did. I'm doing warm, wet washcloth compresses for about 1-4 minutes in the morning and night and follow it with a cold washcloth compress which feels great. I started cutting down on all starches in my diet. I'm replacing spaghetti or rice in dinner and lunch with extra veggies, leaning towards the paleo diet, but not totally. I cut out muffins at breakfast and started eating a hard-boiled egg and a yogurt. I try to eat more whole, unprocessed foods, although I eat dessert, chocolate, and a couple of other things every now and then. I'm drinking Echinacea/Elderberry tea most days. Most days I also have a cup of rooibos/pomegranate tea or green tea of some sort.
After a couple of days of this, I noticed that my eyes were 80% better. Plus, every time I tried wearing the makeup, my eyes got worse again. Especially the mascara. I haven't found totally good makeup to use yet, but I can wear powder and blush every now and then and my eyes don't get too bad. Now, after about a month of not using the products and no eye drops, I'd say my eyes are 95% better, and my eye lids only itch a little every now and then. I'm more sensitive now to when I'm allergic to what people use around me that I'm allergic to and try to avoid people that make my face itch or my throat tickle.
I just had a TRUE patch test (truetest.com) at my dermatologist last week and besides being very, very allergic to nickel sulfate (which I figured), I'm also sensitive to fragrance mix, potassium dichromate, Neomycin Sulfate, Cobalt Dichloride, and Urea. I think I'm allergic to the preservative in eye drops, but I don't think they tested for it.
So that's my story. I never started using the Rx drops that just came in the mail, restasis. I'm 95% + better now, and although I'd like to find makeup I can use more, at least my eyes feel better most of the time and I'm not using drops or night ointment. Plus, as an added positive, my skin on my face used to be red and blotchy, especially on my chin, and it isn't anymore.
I hope your eyes feel as well as mine do!
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