Sudden Dry Eye overnight

[michael0990]

Hey everyone,

This is my first post after browsing all the forums. I couldn't really find anything that related to my specific problem so I wanted to share my story.

After my birthday this past January I decided to go in for a Lasik consultation out of interest. I had 20/30 vision ever since I was 14. They ran their tests and stuff and I went home to dwell on it.

Three nights pass and I wake up with dry eye in my right eye. Really out of no where. I decided to wait a week to see if it's just something that'll pass by. Well... a week goes by and my other eye starts getting dry.

I went to see the optometrist who said nothing looked out of the ordinary and my eyes weren't all that dry. She prescribed a regimen of lubricating eye drops, hot compresses and some sort of vitamin A viscous oil to put in at night. If that didn't work, an antihistime drop and pills after 2 weeks.

Well a month passes without any progress. In fact, it got worse. A month after onset of symptoms, I developed a tightness on the sides of nose and cheeks when the pain is really bad... probably from squinting this whole month... And my eye muscles feel weak. And my eyes are now burning.

I've had an MRI of my head which turned out to be normal. I've had several blood tests and everything is normal as well. I had a CT of my sinuses because of my facial symptoms (that I thought were from squinting), and there's a small cyst in my maxillary sinus.... but the doctor dismissed this right away as a cause for my pain.

I'm at a loss. I've never had eye pain my whole life. Could it be something that was caused by the Lasik consultation tests? I even did a round of antibiotics for the sinus cyst thing to no relief. I've also used every OTC eye drop on the market and even got an STD check. I don't know where to turn any more... I have an ophthalmologist booked in a couple of weeks, as well as an ENT.

TDLR: sudden dry eye overnight in one eye... week later in the other. Three months now with symptoms of burning, and dryness. No diet change, no medications. The only thing I can recall is going to an eye exam to test my eligibility for lasik. For the record I'm 23 and male.

Thank you to anyone that might have insight.

[pythonidler]

Hi Michael,

Welcome to the forum.

I've never heard of someone having both dry eyes and pain near their sinuses, so I can't speculate on what your problem is. I'm glad to hear that you're making an appointment with ophthalmologist, though. In my opinion, you're more likely to find an ophthalmologist who's knowledgeable about dry eye than an optometrist.

As for whether this LASIK consultation caused your dry eye - I'm not a doctor, so I don't know for sure - but I'm guessing it's probably not related. What is also unclear is whether this is an acute problem (i.e., one that happened suddenly and can probably be fixed) vs a chronic one (i.e., one that developed over the course of several years, and probably cannot be "cured"). I would say most people on this board (myself included) have chronic dry eye, and are trying the best they can to manage their condition.

The best thing you can do for your eyes in the meantime (before you see your ophthalmologist), is to try lots of different things to make yourself better. That includes things like artificial drops, heat masks, and antihistamine drops. Then by the time your see the doctor, you can tell him what helps.

Keep us updated with your situation, and let us know how your ophthalmologist visit goes.

[michael0990]

Thank you for your reply. I've tried every remedy on the internet. Scrubs, heat masks (currently have 3 different ones), I have 10 different artificial tears which at first don't help at all and then I get some sort of relief but not for very long. And that includes the gel drops which should stay in longer.

I've never had dry eye symptoms at all before January. The specific eye doctor I'm seeing my area is one that specializes in dry eye.

My biggest concern is I start a new job that requires me to have 20/20 at all times, and ever since these episodes, my vision goes blurry at it's worst.

Again thanks for the wisdom

[pythonidler]

For me, artificial tears have never really helped. It's something that only stays in your eyes for a minute, anyway.

I'm just curious - do you or have you worn contact lenses? For me, long-term contact lens use and computer use (or any kind of screen time) caused my chronic dry eye.

[ths14]

Take 2 tablespoons of flaxseed oil a day and you will feel much better if you have mgd

If you have blepharitis use optimel manuka honey eye drops they are very good but you need to use them for three months to be cured from blepharitis

[Hokucat]

Hi Michael. Do you know your TBUT and Schirmer scores? Have you recently been using electronic devices or your eyes more than usual? If so, you might not be blinking as much or are partially blinking, which can cause your meibomian glands to stop working.

When you see the ophthalmologist, make sure they check TBUT and Schirmers, whether your meibomian glands are producing oil, and the quality of the oil (flowing or thick). Typically need to press on glands to check this. If glands are blocked or not functioning, or if oil is thick or poor quality, this can cause eyes to burn, even if lacrimal glands are producing sufficient tears. Oils help tears to protect and remain on your eyes each time you blink vs. immediately evaporating.

Meibomian Gland Deficiency (MGD) is the major cause of dry eye, so if this ophthalmologist does not evaluate these glands and cannot help you, find another dry eye specialist who can. There are specific treatments like IPL, expression, and probing that address MGD.

I had severe dry eyes from MGD to the point I had to quit my job. What was almost a complete turnaround for me was to unblock my glands with probing, and then keep the oils flowing (mine was thick like toothpaste) by adding fresh lemon juice in strong green tea 2x daily to my already healthy diet of eating/juicing a rainbow of vegetables, berries, and protein like salmon. I also limit sugar, gluten, and diary, as these are known to contribute to dry eyes and my eyes always felt worse after eating these. So ultimately diet addressed the cause of my MGD.

I also wear scleral lenses 12+ hours a day, which help with the remaining dryness. Sclerals are increasingly used for successfully managing dry eye. If your problem ends up being chronic and cannot be adequately resolved, and if you are able to wear them, sclerals might be something to consider. Below are a few links to different scleral lenses where you can read more about them, and also locate the nearest practitioner to you:

http://www.bostonsight.org/PROSE/PRO...y-Eye-Syndrome

http://www.bostonsightscleral.org/

https://www.eyeprintpro.com/patient/

I hope your ophthalmologist appointment provides some answers. Good luck.

[farmgirl]

I'm just curious Michael about what exactly you are putting in your eyes. It is possible that all of those drops are making you worse, including anything that you might be cleaning contact lenses with. The cycle of inflammation could possibly have started with drops put into your eyes at the Lasik examination and perpetuated with what you put in in response to that. Rather than explaining it all I will just refer you to my post related to what I have discovered.

http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/forum...bout-eye-drops

Just something to think about. I hope you find an answer.....F/G

[michael0990]

Thanks for the support everyone. I actually have never worn glasses or contacts. I've taking omega 3 supplements for the last 3 years from coincidence to try and be more healthy.

As for tear production, my optometrist told me there is some dryness although I never did a test for it. She saw it using her scopes and drops. She also presumed early stages of MGD but 2 hot compresses a day along with drops and vitamin a drops with oils didn't help me one bit over the month and half I've been doing it so far. As for blepharitis, I've always had sebborhea to some degree since I was a teen but I have had a break out in some time... I don't think it would appear in just my eyes and not along side my nose, ears, brows, etc.

The dry burning eyes are one thing, but I'm also getting tingling and pressure sensations in the corner of my eyes down my nose and between my eyes on the bridge. Not sure if this anxiety or my sinuses. But it tends to be worse at night or when I'm doing a visual intensive task. Maybe some sort of neuralgia? I don't know.

I'll be seeing an ENT and ophthalmologist in the next 2 weeks and see what they have to say. Otherwise I'll visit a neurologist. Again, thanks for taking your time and giving me some suggestions guys!

[michael0990]

As for the computer question. I've used the computer daily and watched tv daily before this happened for many years without even a wince. The fact that I could watch 8 hours of tv one day and then I can't even drive at night without anti glare glasses the next will haunt me if this doesn't get sorted out

[pythonidler]

Thanks for the support everyone. I actually have never worn glasses or contacts. I've taking omega 3 supplements for the last 3 years from coincidence to try and be more healthy.

As for tear production, my optometrist told me there is some dryness although I never did a test for it. She saw it using her scopes and drops. She also presumed early stages of MGD but 2 hot compresses a day along with drops and vitamin a drops with oils didn't help me one bit over the month and half I've been doing it so far. As for blepharitis, I've always had sebborhea to some degree since I was a teen but I have had a break out in some time... I don't think it would appear in just my eyes and not along side my nose, ears, brows, etc.

The dry burning eyes are one thing, but I'm also getting tingling and pressure sensations in the corner of my eyes down my nose and between my eyes on the bridge. Not sure if this anxiety or my sinuses. But it tends to be worse at night or when I'm doing a visual intensive task. Maybe some sort of neuralgia? I don't know.

I'll be seeing an ENT and ophthalmologist in the next 2 weeks and see what they have to say. Otherwise I'll visit a neurologist. Again, thanks for taking your time and giving me some suggestions guys!

Eye doctors whose only test for your dry eye is to put some drops in your eye and look through a slit lamp are useless, IMO. My first doctor was that kind of doctor. I saw him for 6 months, and that was 6 months too long.

The problem with phrase "dry eye" is that's it's kind of an umbrella term. Your eye system has lots of components to it, and all of them must function well for you to feel well. If you're feeling dryness, it could be from one or more components that are not working correctly (at one point, I had three different problems with my eye). When you go see your ophthalmologist, s/he should do multiple tests on you - each test designed for a different component. And it would be good if your ophthalmologist took at least one image of your eye (e.g., meibography which is an image of your meibomian glands).

Again, good luck with your ophthalmologist visit. Remember, though, that you are not married to this doctor. It doesn't have to be more than one visit if you didn't like how your visit went; the sooner you find a good doctor, the sooner you can get better.

[michael0990]

I'll take that advice with any doctor. I've had to switch my GP multiple times before. Thanks!

[waterbee]

January is the start of allergies season. You may not have typical allergies symptoms (runny nose, running eyes ect) to have developed sinus pressure/inflammation due to it. (no mucus is necessary for the pain you can get in your sinus glands, it can even confuse some out of date experts).

you could ask for basic allergies blood tests to start with to see how things look (tree pollen, is big right now but im in the UK, so do a search of whats bad in your area. also dont rule dust, dust mites, feathers, pet dander ect. it may sound crazy but these allergies can start anytime and any age and have strange symptoms for some.) though blood tests are not 100% fail safe.

im just now looking at this as a possibility for me too, (im trying some allergies shots soon for hay fever, even though i only present with dry eye and sinus pressure no mucus)

i was encouraged by a recovery story on here of a lady who had no symptoms of allergies but for dry eye, (even her blood tests didnt pick up anything) she got LDI shots and made a full recovery.

makes sence when you think about it all starting at prime allergies season. (which can then go on all year if you are also then reacting to grass pollen, mould ect) also your ENT doctor may be unaware of this uncommon presentation there for an allergies specialist is the best person to ask.

hope this helps!

[michael0990]

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind when i see the doctor. I came back for an update from my eye doctor. Turns out one of my tear ducts was partially blocked due to the sinus problem I have on that one side and a cyst inflaming the sinus. After the inflammation is reduced and cyst is removed, I should then be fine and eventually recover. But I'll look into allergies possibly causing the inflammation in the first place. Thanks again.

[waterbee]

thats great news Michael, im glad you got to the route of the issue and didnt give up. it just goes to show you can see an eye specialist and they STILL miss these things. was your blocked duct at the back so not visible? and was only one eye effected?
im seeing an E and T guy about my ear issues in a few weeks and i may ask for a scan just to be safe, if so.

[michael0990]

My eyes are inflamed again and I feel tingling and pressure down my nose and cheeks. I'm starting to think this is definitely a sinus thing. My recent CT scan shows a cyst in my left maxillary... right below the eye (left) that acts up the most. I have a feeling the inflammation is aggravating my nerves in my face and eyes. This is because even at my worst pain in the eyes (like a deep burning and dry sensation) neither eye turns red. Very strange stuff!