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Hey guys,
My eyes were addicted to over-the-counter vasoconstrictors for over 20 years. Visine. Clear Eyes. Brite Eyes. Opcon-A. Safyr Bleur. Murine. Naphcon-A. Prefrin and Oxylin. You name it. If a brand was available in the country I was in, I tried it. I even made combination-cocktails out of some of them. And just like anyone and everyone else, I got caught in the rebound redness trap.
I’ve lived with that panic, where worrying about your eyes consumes your every lucid thought. How it affects your behaviour: peering into any sort of reflective surface to check if your eyes are red. Planning a day out with the family and only worrying about where and when you might be able to put eye drops in. Visiting the bathroom obsessively to study the mirror. Dreading late nights at work for reasons fairly different to your colleagues’.
And I know the ‘looks’ all too well. Complete strangers passing judgement on you. Making assumptions. Must be drugs. Must be alcohol. Must be something wrong with him. So I understand just how desperate things can get and that’s why I have to offer you this hope.
I had visited eye care professionals on two separate occasions before and they’d unfortunately done nothing to help. But I, as the addicts say, had hit rock bottom. Something had to change. And I got lucky. I saw a particularly open-minded and dedicated ophthalmologist, and he found a way out. Dumb luck? Sure-footed science? Don’t know. But it worked for me, I hope it’ll work for you.
Here’s what you need to do:
There are no unicorns
Firstly, you need to forget about a quick fix. A magical solution. It doesn’t exist. This is the hardest thing to accept. There will be awkward moments. You will have to face people at work. It’s going to be difficult. There’s no other way around it. But it’s also not going to be as bad as you imagine. Fear always trumps reality. It’s worse in your mind than it will be in the world, I promise you.
Use your words
Secondly, tell people. Horror, I know. But when people hear what’s really happening to you and how difficult it is for you, they will be surprisingly more understanding than you think. And it’s a better alternative to them making judgmental assumptions about you anyway. So talk.
Look them in the eye
Lastly, find an ophthalmologist that will be as open-minded, willing and honest as you will have to be:
Tell the truth, all of it. Don’t hide anything. Don’t distort the facts to avoid embarrassment or protect your fragile ego. The doctors can only help you if they have all the facts to consider. They are scientists not psychics.
On the flipside of that, of the three ophthalmologists that I saw over the years, only one was truly willing to help me. Disappointingly, the first guy I saw (when I was at University) suggested that I wear tinted glasses. That’s all. He said that there was nothing to be done. No options. There was no way to treat it and my eyes would be like this forever. Thanks bud.
Whether the other doctors weren’t sure how to treat me, or they just weren’t interested in treating me I’ll never know, and it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you find someone you can trust. And it might not be the first doc you see. Look them in the eye and you’ll know.
Somewhere to start
Tell your doc about the treatment plan that my ophthalmologist put me on. It worked for me, and although there’s no guarantee that it’ll work for you, it’s at a place to start. I’ve tried to provide as much detail below:
Month One – eliminating variables
In the first month, you can use your vasocontrictors as usual. My doc’s plan was to eliminate any existing infections, allergies or conditions that may contribute towards causing red eyes in the first place. It’s like hitting the reset button. This is the easy bit.
Here’s a list of the brands/manufacturers of all the different things he put me on:
Eye-lid cleansing, twice a day – LID-CARE sterile wipes from Alcon
Steroidal Eye Drops every four hours – MINIMS from Bausch & Lomb (Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate 0.1%)
Anti-bacterial Eye Drops for infections, twice a day – Fucithalmic 5g Viscous Eye Drops (Fusidic Acid) This stuff burns the crap out of you.
Warm compression, twice a day for 5 minutes. (Hot facecloth on the eyes when you get up and before you go to bed.)
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed – Systayne Ultra UD from Alcon. (Or Refresh Plus from Allergan)
The effect was immediate and dramatic. I went from having to use my red eye drops every 2 - 3 hours, to every 6 - 8 hours. And sometimes only twice a day. There was real hope here.
Next Two Weeks – weaning your eyes
Assuming that any infections/allergies have been dealt with, you can now start getting off the poison. This is when you need to grow a set and take a leap. Start telling people about what you’re doing. Talk to your boss if you have to. Try limit the use of those god-awful vasoconstrictors. This is the hard bit.
Eye-lid cleansing, twice a day.
Steroidal Eye Drops every six hours – 4 times a day
Anti-bacterial Ointment once a day.
Warm compression, twice a day for 5 minutes.
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed.
Red eye drops - as infrequently as possible. Try not to exceed 2/3 times a day.
Quick word on the warm compression – it makes your eyes red. Don’t panic about that. The benefits far outweigh the 20 minutes of pinky eyes. The oils need to flow. Go with it.
Next Two weeks – off the poison
By now, you should be able to get off the red eye drops completely. It’s scary at first, but have some faith. Every day without a drop of that crap is a step closer to freedom. Breathe. Keep going.
Eye-lid cleansing, once a day.
Warm compression, twice a day for 5 minutes.
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed
Maintenance
Eye-lid cleansing, two to three times a week.
Warm compressions, twice a day for 5 minutes.
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed.
It’s been around two months and although my eyes aren’t the bright, sparkly white that one sees in fashion magazines, they’re clear and nowhere near the ghastly full-blown red they used to be. And, more importantly, they’re not dependent on vasocontrictors anymore. I panic less and I leave my house without checking my pockets for eye drops. You know what I’m talking about.
I wish you all the best.
My eyes were addicted to over-the-counter vasoconstrictors for over 20 years. Visine. Clear Eyes. Brite Eyes. Opcon-A. Safyr Bleur. Murine. Naphcon-A. Prefrin and Oxylin. You name it. If a brand was available in the country I was in, I tried it. I even made combination-cocktails out of some of them. And just like anyone and everyone else, I got caught in the rebound redness trap.
I’ve lived with that panic, where worrying about your eyes consumes your every lucid thought. How it affects your behaviour: peering into any sort of reflective surface to check if your eyes are red. Planning a day out with the family and only worrying about where and when you might be able to put eye drops in. Visiting the bathroom obsessively to study the mirror. Dreading late nights at work for reasons fairly different to your colleagues’.
And I know the ‘looks’ all too well. Complete strangers passing judgement on you. Making assumptions. Must be drugs. Must be alcohol. Must be something wrong with him. So I understand just how desperate things can get and that’s why I have to offer you this hope.
I had visited eye care professionals on two separate occasions before and they’d unfortunately done nothing to help. But I, as the addicts say, had hit rock bottom. Something had to change. And I got lucky. I saw a particularly open-minded and dedicated ophthalmologist, and he found a way out. Dumb luck? Sure-footed science? Don’t know. But it worked for me, I hope it’ll work for you.
Here’s what you need to do:
There are no unicorns
Firstly, you need to forget about a quick fix. A magical solution. It doesn’t exist. This is the hardest thing to accept. There will be awkward moments. You will have to face people at work. It’s going to be difficult. There’s no other way around it. But it’s also not going to be as bad as you imagine. Fear always trumps reality. It’s worse in your mind than it will be in the world, I promise you.
Use your words
Secondly, tell people. Horror, I know. But when people hear what’s really happening to you and how difficult it is for you, they will be surprisingly more understanding than you think. And it’s a better alternative to them making judgmental assumptions about you anyway. So talk.
Look them in the eye
Lastly, find an ophthalmologist that will be as open-minded, willing and honest as you will have to be:
Tell the truth, all of it. Don’t hide anything. Don’t distort the facts to avoid embarrassment or protect your fragile ego. The doctors can only help you if they have all the facts to consider. They are scientists not psychics.
On the flipside of that, of the three ophthalmologists that I saw over the years, only one was truly willing to help me. Disappointingly, the first guy I saw (when I was at University) suggested that I wear tinted glasses. That’s all. He said that there was nothing to be done. No options. There was no way to treat it and my eyes would be like this forever. Thanks bud.
Whether the other doctors weren’t sure how to treat me, or they just weren’t interested in treating me I’ll never know, and it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you find someone you can trust. And it might not be the first doc you see. Look them in the eye and you’ll know.
Somewhere to start
Tell your doc about the treatment plan that my ophthalmologist put me on. It worked for me, and although there’s no guarantee that it’ll work for you, it’s at a place to start. I’ve tried to provide as much detail below:
Month One – eliminating variables
In the first month, you can use your vasocontrictors as usual. My doc’s plan was to eliminate any existing infections, allergies or conditions that may contribute towards causing red eyes in the first place. It’s like hitting the reset button. This is the easy bit.
Here’s a list of the brands/manufacturers of all the different things he put me on:
Eye-lid cleansing, twice a day – LID-CARE sterile wipes from Alcon
Steroidal Eye Drops every four hours – MINIMS from Bausch & Lomb (Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate 0.1%)
Anti-bacterial Eye Drops for infections, twice a day – Fucithalmic 5g Viscous Eye Drops (Fusidic Acid) This stuff burns the crap out of you.
Warm compression, twice a day for 5 minutes. (Hot facecloth on the eyes when you get up and before you go to bed.)
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed – Systayne Ultra UD from Alcon. (Or Refresh Plus from Allergan)
The effect was immediate and dramatic. I went from having to use my red eye drops every 2 - 3 hours, to every 6 - 8 hours. And sometimes only twice a day. There was real hope here.
Next Two Weeks – weaning your eyes
Assuming that any infections/allergies have been dealt with, you can now start getting off the poison. This is when you need to grow a set and take a leap. Start telling people about what you’re doing. Talk to your boss if you have to. Try limit the use of those god-awful vasoconstrictors. This is the hard bit.
Eye-lid cleansing, twice a day.
Steroidal Eye Drops every six hours – 4 times a day
Anti-bacterial Ointment once a day.
Warm compression, twice a day for 5 minutes.
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed.
Red eye drops - as infrequently as possible. Try not to exceed 2/3 times a day.
Quick word on the warm compression – it makes your eyes red. Don’t panic about that. The benefits far outweigh the 20 minutes of pinky eyes. The oils need to flow. Go with it.
Next Two weeks – off the poison
By now, you should be able to get off the red eye drops completely. It’s scary at first, but have some faith. Every day without a drop of that crap is a step closer to freedom. Breathe. Keep going.
Eye-lid cleansing, once a day.
Warm compression, twice a day for 5 minutes.
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed
Maintenance
Eye-lid cleansing, two to three times a week.
Warm compressions, twice a day for 5 minutes.
Natural tears (preservative free) for comfort, if needed.
It’s been around two months and although my eyes aren’t the bright, sparkly white that one sees in fashion magazines, they’re clear and nowhere near the ghastly full-blown red they used to be. And, more importantly, they’re not dependent on vasocontrictors anymore. I panic less and I leave my house without checking my pockets for eye drops. You know what I’m talking about.
I wish you all the best.
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