New to all this :-(

[nikkishp]

Hi

Im recently diagnosed (i say diagnosed but it was a nurse at eye casualty who said in a very derogatory tone 'you only have dry eye') I was sent away with artificial tears and told come back in 7 if no better. It wasnt so I went back , saw another nurse who huffed and puffed and then said I had blephritis!

I have a few questions: why couldnt i see that i had blephritis, i had no signs or symptoms. I do now though with all this cleaning?

Why do I get burning in my eyebrows or down my face? My eyes dont burn.

Why if on a good day (about once every two weeks) I wear my contact lenses , why dont i get any symptoms of irritation or tingling (blephritis i assume) and no burning? Unfortunately cant wear my lenses every day and when i do i am forever putting drops in which is quite a pain but I am still in mourning for them!

Any advice , hope or support welcome

Nikki

[arcticstar]

Glad to find you and a questions for Nikki

Found this site yesterday, wow. I've had dry eyes for maybe 10 years, finally got restasis that doesn't seem to do much and things are really worse now. Seeing eye doc tomorrow for plugs. Also use systane when needed. About 7 years ago was prescribed Singulair for badly watering and runny eyes during allergy season and until a few months ago never connected that with onset of blurry vision, inability to read for more than 10 minutes at a time sitting up due to blurriness, but could read lying in bed for hours without problems. Stopped Singulair and vision cleared up, not totally but enough to be able to sit and read for up to an hour. It feels really good to know I'm not alone. I live in the middle of Alaska where there is very little humidity especially in winter so I'm surprised I don't know many people with this problem. Thanks for being here.

Nikki, who diagnoses blephritis? I see the eye doc tomorrow and the dermatologist in two weeks. I will take my long list of things to both.

[nikkishp]

hello arcticstar

Hi
The nurse in eye casualty said i had blephritis. i have no obvious signs, i cant see anything so not sure but I have been scrubbing my eyelids every since!!
The worse thing for me is using the computer particularly a laptop. Unfortunately its part of my job and im doing an MA so I have no choice. i wonder if punctal plugs would help with computer use. The best time for me is the weekend and outside!

Are you in the UK? I finally have an appointment to see an opthalmologist in january after visiting the GP for 6 months. The GP really hadnt got a clue.

Its the burning and numbness in my face that bothers me the most.

One day ay a time I suppose

Nikki

[Rebecca Petris]

Hello and welcome Nikki and arcticstar!

I have a few questions: why couldnt i see that i had blephritis, i had no signs or symptoms. I do now though with all this cleaning?

There are different kinds of blepharitis. Some are really obvious - red & icky or flakey - while others are not visible at all to the naked eye and only detectable when they examine the meibomian glands carefully. Blepharitis symptoms are often just any collection of the symptoms of dry eye (since bleph interferes with having a healthy tear film). I think sometimes that if you're having dry eye symptoms but they don't see obvious signs they may sometimes just say blepharitis even if they don't see obvious signs of it since bleph/MGD is such a common cause of dry eye symptoms.

Why do I get burning in my eyebrows or down my face? My eyes dont burn.

Hm.

Do you have rosacea? Been to a dermatologist at all?

Why if on a good day (about once every two weeks) I wear my contact lenses , why dont i get any symptoms of irritation or tingling (blephritis i assume) and no burning? Unfortunately cant wear my lenses every day and when i do i am forever putting drops in which is quite a pain but I am still in mourning for them!

The contact lens is shielding your cornea so you're not feeling the dryness symptoms (burning etc) that you would be feeling without the lens. In fact contact lenses are sometimes used therapeutically for this reason... to protect the cornea... but only temporarily.

About 7 years ago was prescribed Singulair for badly watering and runny eyes during allergy season and until a few months ago never connected that with onset of blurry vision, inability to read for more than 10 minutes at a time sitting up due to blurriness, but could read lying in bed for hours without problems. Stopped Singulair and vision cleared up

I googled this and found this quote on eHow: "Dry Eyes
Some patients taking Singulair reported that after their allergies were relieved, they began having problems with dry eyes. The dry eyes were relieved with the constant use of eye drops, but cleared up completely when taken off the drug."

Sound familiar?

who diagnoses blephritis?

A GOOD optometrist or ophthalmologist but you'll have to have specific questions with you to get much information. Ask them to examine your meibomian glands and make sure they press on them to see what's coming out. I think the combination of a dermatologist and a good eye doctor is a great way to go because the derm will have a better understanding of the skin issues.

[nikkishp]

Thank you

Hello Rebecca

Thank you so much for you reply. I actually have my first appointment with an opthamologist on 4th January and will be asking loads of questions. I have been test for all the usual but no one mentioned rosacea!! I will look into this also.

I have read some good things about plugs and i am wondering if I should be persuing this with the opthalmologist in the hope of improving working on a computer.

Thank you again for your reply it is much appreciated. i have learnt an awful lot from this site so thank you again.

I am particularly interested also in being in contact with people from the UK as thats where I am and what sort of treatments they have been succesful with.

Nikki

[irish eyes]

Nikki

Do you know anything about the opthalmologist's background ie special expertise and interest?

You mentioned doing MA level study; have you made your tutors / supervisors aware of your eye problems?

[nikkishp]

Hello irisheyes

No idea what background the opthalmologist has, i havent even got a name yet just an appointment at the eye clinic?!?

Do you think saying anything to uni would be of benefit?

Nikki

[jads]

Hi Nikki, have you had your hormones checked? A lot of GPs typically fail to run hormone panels on many of their patients! The reasons for this vary from doctor to doctor - but often many GPs just don't know how to interpret the results to provide the right advice unfortunately.

Correct hormone balance is key to good eye health. As we age, our hormone balance gets out of whack, sometimes quite severely.

[nikkishp]

Hi

No not had hormones checked, unfortunately the GPs Ive seen havent been that knowledgable!! Its another question to my list for my appointment on tuesday.

If there are any other specific questions to ask please let me know, i would be very grateful

I am currently using Minims artificial tears (although they are currently unavailable from the manufacturer according to the chemist I have visitied) and celluvisc ( horrible and gluppy but the only alternative offered by the GP)
i am also doing the hot compresses and lid cleaning, taking omega 3 and flaxseed plus trying to drink 2 pints of water per day.


Nikki

[irish eyes]

.............Do you think saying anything to uni would be of benefit?

Nikki

Hi Nikki

It depends on whether you think the problem is seriously affecting your ability to study. Are you at risk of giving it all up? What do you do when you have an assignment deadline looming and you are at your wits end with your eyes?

If you are working, then you are probably studying part time, but you should be able to access the services of the Disability Support Officer (or person with similar title!) All you would need to do at this stage would be to organise a meeting with them.

I used to have extra time in exams; this didn't give me an advantage over other students because there were rules about how the time could be used. I wasn't allowed to write; I would either sit there with my eyes closed or get permission to leave the room to get some air. I would always agree with the invigilator beforehand how I wanted the use the extra time, so as not to distract other examinees. Having invigilated lots of exams myself, I knew the rules and was always sensitive to other students' needs too.

I needed to produce evidence from the GP / hospital to support requests for additional help but that was never a problem. I'm sure the University want you to succeed with your MA as much as you do.

[nikkishp]

Thanks for that, ill discuss this with uni when i return in february.

Much appreciated

Nikki

[irish eyes]

You are welcome Nikki.

Give some thoughts to what would help you; people can be well intentioned but jump to the wrong conclusions about what it is THEY think that YOU need.