New here- dry eye or something else?

[lilypaduk]

Hi everyone! I'm a 21 year old from the UK and i started experiencing problems with my eyes 3 months ago. I stopped my contraceptive pill and ever since a month after that my eyes have been in pain and irritated 24/7- I'm not sure if theres a connection. I have been to Moorfields A&E twice, the first time I was told that my eyes were very dry and to use over the counter eye drops four times a day for four weeks. After two weeks I wasn't feeling any improvement and started getting occasional flashes and floaters so went back to A&E and was told that my eyes were fine and not that dry now and that it must be something causing it outside of the eye region.
My eyes burn and sting all day and gradually started getting more and more veins in them to the point where they are constantly bloodshot now and new veins seem to be coming up every day. I'm currently on a 3 month waiting list to see an ophthalmologist and not able to go into work or really live life because of the eye pain and light sensitivity. My current daily routine is systane ultra 4 times a day, warm compresses for 10 minutes twice a day, flaxseed supplements twice a day and sleeping with a humidifier on. I have tried vita-pos ointment when I go to sleep but I don't find that it helps, my eyes are still irritated as soon as I wake up.
I'm currently trying oral antihistamines for a week just in case this is allergies as recommended by my optician. I doubt it is and I know they can be drying but I'm willing to try anything right now! Any tips or insight would be appreciated and I'm looking forward to talking to you all!

[MGD1701]

Hi Welcome!

If you do have MGD, massage, lidhygiene are also very important. What helped me:
Wash eyes with warm running water say 10 times (can remove dirts etc & reduce pain)

compress: For me:15 min. is more effective, especially for the thick oil
& the wet heat/Blephasteam is better as it removes dirts, discharges etc.

pain: wear swimming goggle when sleep. I no longer suffer pain for 7 months.
When you apply ointment, it is important do lid scrubs in the morning (otherwise it might block your glands).

[lilypaduk]

Hi, thank you for the advice! It's amazing that you've been pain free for 7 months, congratulations! Just curious- what do you use to keep your lids clean? I was just using saline solution but I know there are specific products for lid hygiene, I just dont know which to go for. Thanks for the feedback!!

[MGD1701]

Lid cleanser with pure Hypochlorous Acid helps me amazingly.
I could not get Aveonva/USA but I found the alternative, NatraSan First Aid Spray made in UK.
Good to learn more about it so you know WHY it is safe/effective.

Pain
if you have morning/mid-night pain, good to check if your eyes are closed when sleep.
ointment for the night: I find too much amount is bad.

Root causes: good to identify causes + if your glands are functional?----extremely important
If you dont expose to sun often, good to check your Vit. D level.

Drop: make sure apply it BEFORE eyes get dry.

[dryirisheyes]

Hi Lilypaduk,

so sorry to hear you are suffering with this condition! I too am trying to get to grips with MGD / dry eye and Rosacea and how I can best manage my symptoms etc. It’s a tough road!

In relation to nighttime ointment, I too was using vitapos for a long time and I didn’t really find it beneficial, it’s very thick and I felt that when I was putting the gel in I was getting more outside my eye than inside! My opthamologist recommended Thealoz Duo Gel (there is also a version in drops too). Anyways I have been using the gel in my eyes at night and I find it MUCH better than vitapos. It’s not as thick and I can get it in my eye much easier. It comes in individual vials. I think you can order it on amazon uk.

[dryirisheyes]

I also forgot to say that the Thealoz Due Gel is preservative free which is always good!

[MGD1701]

Hi dryirisheyes
Just happened to find this interview video - might be useful for you -
these 4 females doctors recommend Hypochlorous Acid /Avenova and consider it is also useful for Rosacea.
Video from 21:45. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VshPAri8Ck

[dryirisheyes]

Hi MGD 1701,

Thank you for providing the link to that video - it was informative. At the moment I don’t do daily lid scrubs - just hot compress and massage. So I will definitely look into starting a scrub soon.

[mbperso]

Hi,

I found this report:

Reduction in bacterial load using hypochlorous acid hygiene solution on ocular skin
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5402722/

Maybe I should try it