Dry eye and corneal problems after chalazion removal

[loennrot]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else found themselves in a similar situation. I underwent a chalazion removal surgery in January (it was a fairly big one under my upper left eyelid that wouldn't go away). The eyelid has by now returned to normal (at least it looks like it from outside), however I now experience corneal problems related to the change in the quality of my tear film (according to the ophthalmologist). What this means is that every other night, I suddenly wake up from my sleep and feel pain upon opening my eyelid. It's the same sort of pain as having a foreign object under the eyelid. The doctor said that this comes from the tear film getting dried out during the night and leading to corneal pain. He instructed me to apply erythromycin ointment for at least two months in order to suppress any corneal infections and see whether the situation improves. I guess the ointment does make it somewhat easier because it keeps the moisture inside, but I still feel the same pain occasionally. I'm wondering if it this will ever settle down... needless to say, at this point I regret very much not being more patient and letting chalazion go away on its own, but what's done is done. Actually, I have another small chalazion in my lower right eyelid, but it's not big and for now I am letting it heal on its own.

I've also been taking Thera Tears capsules, applying warm compresses once or twice a day, and cleaning the eye lids at least 2-3 times a day with Ocusoft. I'm wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and could share some specific advice/experiences.

Thanks in advance

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi there and welcome - sorry you didn't get any replies sooner, sometimes posts on a quiet day don't get seen.

For whatever reason we really don't get a lot of discussion about chalazions/chalazion surgery here. I'm kind of wondering from your post though whether you're getting something like baby erosions at night. Sudden stabbing or sharp pain on opening the lid is pretty classic. This can happen when the lid sticks down and literally tears cells off the cornea. Small ones heal so rapidly that they are not visible by the time that you get to the doctor. Next time you see an eye doctor I would be sure to ask about this. Many people here had quite a lot of trouble getting this diagnosed initially. Other things you can do besides keeping the eye well lubricated at night include having a moisture goggle or sleep mask on or even a bit of plastic wrap over that eye, and training yourself to open your lid very slowly, perhaps after wetting the eye while it's still closed.

[loennrot]

thanks alot for the tips, i will try to introduce those things into my routine. it's definitely something connected with irritation of the cornea due to dryness during the night. for now, i am still applying the erythromycin ointment as the doctor recommended and the ointment enables me to go through the night without pain.

[Irina2]

Hello,

I concur with an excellent reply by Ms. Petris. It does sound like you have a recurrent corneal erosion. One thing I would like to recommend is asking your doctor about sodium chloride 5% drops during the day or ointment at night. If your erosion is not responsive to the preceding treatment, you may benefit from wearing a bandage contact lens at night.

Hope it helps.

Irina Ganelis, M.D.
http://www.GanelisMD.com

[loennrot]

Hello again, I thought it might be useful to provide a little update on my situation.

To summarize the earlier symptoms: I had a chalazion removed last January, according to my doctor the eyelid healed successfully, but as a side effect I started getting corneal erosions during the night in the same eye. I still believe there has to be a connection between these two things somehow, since the other eye is functioning normally. Anyhow, the first time I saw the doctor he suggested using the erythromycin ointment during the night and indeed this helped if I was using it regularly. There would be some residual sensitivity (the stinging feeling) during the day, but I could more or less function normally and didn't need to worry if I would accidentally open my eyes during the night and feel the stabbing pain in my eyelid. After a couple of months, I decided to pay him another visit, he took another look and said the cornea looked alright (I had been using the ointment regularly before that, so the situation was probably kept under control and even if there were smaller erosions, they could heal quickly on their own). The only additional advice he had was to continue using the similar kind of ointment but over the counter (such as Refresh PM) since the real benefit probably came from the lubricant (mineral oil or whatever). I used Systane ointment for a week or two, I could make it through the night but there was still some sensitivity during the day. Finally, inspired by the posts here, I decided to try Muro 128. I've used it for a couple of days now and I am happy to report that this definitely works best in my case. I apply it before going to bed, no unpleasant reactions as some people here describe, and in the morning I wake up with a fresh eye and make it normally through the day.

For now, I am really content with the effect of Muro 128. I wanted to ask if there are any side effects from the long term use, say a couple of months of daily use? Thanks in advance.