25 year old suffering from dry eyes and ugly eye veins!!!

[rooneyandfergie]

Hi guys, I am 25 years of age this year and I believe that i am suffering from dry eyes. At least that was what my opthamologist told me although he has yet to conduct any clinical test on it.
It has been a really rough few months for me. I was recently diagnosed with glaucoma as well. Anyway here's how the problem started for me.

In Dec 09, I was hooked on this computer game. I spent about a week playing it all the time. On one occasion, i felt a sharp pain in my eyes, headache and pain between the brows. My eyes also turned red. The next day, the redness subsided but the discomfort of the eyes remained. Below are a list of symptoms that have persisted till now.
- light sensitivity
- heavy and discomfortable eyelids. ( there's always a faint aching feeling in the eyelids)
- eyes feel like sandpaper and blinking does not seem to alleviate the feeling (burning sensation)
- could not use the computer or watch tv for as long a period of time

Then in Feb 2010, I screwed myself again. I put in contacts. I had not previously used this pair of contacts before. The brand was Acuvue oasys. it made my eyes turn very red and felt very discomfortable. I took it out after about half an hour. The redness subsided after a day but i noticed many new veins that persisted. I now have many new ugly veins in both eyes that dont go away. They merely turn less red when not irritated but they are always there. My eyes also turned red easily nowadays. Before the contact lens incident, they just felt dry but the eyes remained white. Now the eye veins are always there. They just get redder when irritated. I was also diagnosed with eyelid inflammation around this period. I was given fucithalmic which i applied for about 3 weeks. I do not know if this was the cause of the dry eyes or was it a result of the dry eyes.

Worse was to come when i was recently diagnosed with glaucoma. I have ocular hypertension. It seems that my right eye suffer mild vision loss in the upper right corner. This was big blow for me as i had been considering permanent eye whitening procedures performed by Dr. BW or Dr. Kim to remove the veins. Although I have neither enquired nor checked it out, I believe i would not be a suitable candidate for the procedures if i intend to take it up now. Anyway, anybody reading this post should get their eyes checked regularly as glaucoma has no symptoms and steals your vision without you knowing.

Apologize if this is really lengthy but I feel really upset as I am young and am in the computing line of work. What good is it as a programmer that cannot tolerate computer screens. I fear that I may have to suffer from dry eye discomfort for the rest of my life. I am now taking omega 3 supplements. I also use either Bion tears (vials) or Systane lubricant drop (bottle) 4 times a day. I am at a lost as I am a new sufferer and do not know how to go about managing the dry eye condition Does anyone know of anyway to remove the ugly red veins in my eyes without aggravating the glaucoma? As i am a new sufferer of dry eye syndrome, can anyone advise me how to manage or get myself cured of dry eyes? Is this gonna be permanent or will my eyes heal and return to their normal state with proper care?

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this.

[Lucy]

If computer is your way of making a living, then STOP PLAYING COMPUTER GAMES. You need to save your eyes for when you need them. This is serious stuff and if you want to be a middle aged person with no work and a game player, well you can make this happen. Not a way to make a living.

I personally do not know of removing the red veins, but again QUIT PLAYING COMPUTER GAMES. It sounds like you are in a serious situation and need to be finding a doc you like and trust. Worrying about red veins at this time is not what you need to be concerned about.

No one of us can predict whether your eyes will return to their previous state. Since you have glaucoma, you must keep up with the doctor and correct drops. Perhaps if you "baby' your eyes, they will return to their previous state. I would be more worried about the sight than the red veins. I know it's hard to deal with things like that sometimes, but it as bad as losing part of your vision. Wearing glasses with a tint will hide the red somewhat. Please stay around the board and be kind to your eyes. Luy

[NeedHealing631]

Then in Feb 2010, I screwed myself again. I put in contacts. I had not previously used this pair of contacts before. The brand was Acuvue oasys. it made my eyes turn very red and felt very discomfortable. I took it out after about half an hour. The redness subsided after a day but i noticed many new veins that persisted. I now have many new ugly veins in both eyes that dont go away. They merely turn less red when not irritated but they are always there. My eyes also turned red easily nowadays. Before the contact lens incident, they just felt dry but the eyes remained white. Now the eye veins are always there. They just get redder when irritated.

Yea, I am the same! Im 25 and I was on Oasis for two or three months before my infection. I also have the red veins that wont go away! Steroid drops helped the 1st month, then they lost their effect and made my eyes really dry from the powder. I suggest you get "computer glasses" that are tinted to help with dry eye.

[rooneyandfergie]

Will try out the computer glasses

Yes, I will certainly try to solve the glaucoma problem first. That is the priority. I will certainly try out the computer glasses to see if they do meet a difference. Know some other people that have experienced problems with Oasis contacts. It's supposed to be one of the most comfortable and gas permeable contacts around, but apparently it creates problems in a lot of people.

[Debk]

Hi there. I think that everyone might be different on the degree of redness/red veins and if it actually goes away.

My problem was diagnosed as rosacea and I had the worst, red, veiny eyes. They seemed to appear overnight, literally, I woke up one morning and the inside corner of one of my eyes was bloodshot and it got progressively worse from there.

In my case, once I started treating the rosacea, my veins/redness seemed to decrease quite a bit. Almost to the point where I am not self conscious about it anymore (I never thought I would be able to say that).

Are my eyes nice and white like they were before that fateful morning? No, and they probably never will be. I do have some visible veins and I might have some pinkinsh tint here and there, especially when I am in a dry environment. But it is currently is not the "oh my gosh, what is wrong with your eyes" severe redness that I was experiencing.

For me, I think the cold compresses really help.

Hang in there.

[sazy123]

It sounds like rosacea that was trigger by the the PC sceeen and contacts.

Contacts also caused my rosacea but of the inner eyelids, i have some faint red lines on the white part but much. When i cry my eyes turn red, but other than that they arent too red (thankfully). But my inner eyelids are red and inflammed with viens which is caused my MGD.

If your prob is on the surface, id try restasis its likely to help you.

[NeedHealing631]

I will certainly try out the computer glasses to see if they do meet a difference. Know some other people that have experienced problems with Oasis contacts. It's supposed to be one of the most comfortable and gas permeable contacts around, but apparently it creates problems in a lot of people.

Yes, try the computer glasses. I found a link for them, $100.00 and they are basically yellow tinted goggles. I spend lots of time on the computer and when you have dry eye, every little bit helps. My explanation of the Oasis problem is, the lens is too big and contains more H20. They cover a larger surface area on the eye, restricting oxygen. Also, the sponge theory... if your eyes are dry they will absorb the water in the lens. Once the lens has been dried out, that's when the damage starts. I had "old style" soft contacts which never worked that great. I wore the oasis april 2008 and I was really happy with how comfortable they were.
Even late at night(5am) my eyes were WHITE and I thought they're were the miracle lens. Anyway, look into the sponge effect. It effect people with dry eye and makes wearing contact lens almost unbearable.