Dry eye after injury

[bungeeye]

Hi everyone,

Been suffering from dry and painful eyes after getting whacked in both eyes with a bungee cord at high velocity when I was using it as a resistance band in circuit training class in March of this year. Thankfully my eyesight has got back to near pre- injury apart from some floaters(my right eye had gone completely black and the left was blurry which was terrifying as i though i wouldnt see my 5 year old and 3 year old again but i still have pain.)The pain has spread to other ares of my face too- my cheeks and teeth . The consultant says that my eyes are dry but not dry enough to be causing the pain which I am describing to him, my TBUT is 8 so he says I have " some sort of neuralgia" which he says he thinks will go away by itself, not very comforting when your face is aching. He has given me tegretol which I understand can dry your eyes out but which is really helping calm the nerves down and helps with the pain. Hot compresses help and celluvisc drops. I had LASIK surgery in 2002, wish now I had never let anyone near my eyes.

So glad to have found this site. Have picked up so many tips from browsing the forums.

Joanne x

[soaps]

Glad ur eyesight is better would have been very scary at first .
Do u think ur flap moved during injury ? I had lasik and this always used to worry me.

Are u sleeping well? Any chance u clenching ur jaw at night due eye pain?
Hope u get better soon .

[dryeyedave]

What a scary injury. I hope you are consulting with an ophthalmologist as general MDs (at least in the US) lack the skill and training to treat eye injuries. It sounds like you might need a neurology consult as well.

[bungeeye]

Hi there

Soaps- I don't think the LASIK flaps moved as the consultant checked them the night of the accident and said the flaps were fine, although he grimaced when I told him I had laser surgery and he said my eyes were more vulnerable if injured, also noticed all the consultants I have seen have been wearing glasses, hmmmmm. I am clenching my teeth and my dentist has mad me a bite guard which I've been wearing at night for 2 months.I am seeing an ophthalmologist but don't seem to be getting very far- agree I may need to see a neurologist too.

Had worst day at work today with my eyes- I was off work for almost 5 months and returned 2 weeks ago and I can feel the moisture getting sucked out of my eyes as soon as I walk into the office.

Thanks for the well wishes, hope you are all doing ok, this is so hard to deal with, I had no idea.

[Katewest]

hi bungeeye- sorry to hear about your injury but it sounds like you are doing all the right things to get better...ie seeing multiple docs. I just saw a neurologist who gave me some good info and thinks he can treat my eye pain. In regards to work...I had to quit my office job 2 months ago and have been unemployed since. Its scary but no where near as scary as office air with 20% humidity. I was so stressed out and getting worse. Do you have a humidifier in your office? Lux installed on your comp? I even tried to take out the artificial lights above me but it really didnt help much. keep trying!

[soaps]

Lol i know u say lasik to opthos with glasses and u can see disapproval on their face. but some i know have ha d lasik themselves so oh well.

i just got bite splint too. i saw a maxillo facial surgeon he advised bitr splint , soft foods , small mouth opening and warm compress on tmj. everyone is different but thought u might b interested. i sometimes find the jaw pain is worse than eye pain.

Good on ya for returning to work , i have been off over 6 months so can understand a little.
Im sure u have tried moisture glasses but if not they might help.

Also a pain clinic might b worthwhile.

[DCRdryeye]

Hey bungee, Indeed you must have hit your eyes very hard, especially a flick from a bungee cord. It was certainly hard enough to cause visual problems which would have been extremely scarey. I'm glad your vision has improved. With regards to the referred pain in cheeks and teeth, yes I agree it could be due to neuralgia and more specifically trauma to the trigeminal nerve. Usually fractured eye sockets cause trigeminal nerve pain and your injury is similar, although you weren't fractured, the eye sockets were hit hard.
Perhaps a nerve pain blocker such as Lyrica or Neurontin? Hopefully over time it will heal further.

With regards to the dryness, the Lacrimal glands are also located where the bungee cord hit, just near the eyelids. Perhaps the nerves connected to them were disturbed and the cornea were damaged. Again, give it more time. Continue your current treatments and know these type of injuries take a long time to heal...especially new nerve growth.

[bungeeye]

Thanks everyone for the advice, occupational health are coming out to assess my work station so hoping they can help! I think this is just going to take a lot of time so hopefully there's more healing ahead.