Why is this happening...:(

[Eyegirl]

I need some help. I don't know what's going on. I don't know if I have dry eye or a patch of it or what. Let me start from the beginning. Brace yourselves. It's rivaling War and Peace.

I've worn colored contacts for about 6 years now-no problems. I did have the bad habit of stretching my disposables for months but got better about it end of last year. I do wear eye makeup because my looks are important to me and my eyes are my best feature. I admit I hardly wash my face at night but I never sleep in my contacts.

So here's where it all starts:
Feb 27th-woke up with inner white part of eye bloodshot..2 days later the right eye gets the same redness in the same area.
March 2nd - Go to eye doctor (optometrist) and he sees a small thing on my cornea. Abrasion I suppose. He also suspected viral eye infection. He put me on vigamox (antibiotic eyedrop) and wanted to see me two days later.
March 5th - Eyes look alot better. Redness pretty much gone. Says to continue Vigamox for 4 more days and I can go back to contacts. I do the treatment and go back to contacts but also wear my glasses at home. contacts would still sort of bother me off an on. I would have my good days and my bad days with them.

2 and a half weeks go by....

Eye starts bothering me again. Go to eye doctor on March 31st and says I still have that thing on my cornea and small white spots circling cornea meaning its bacteria. He puts me on 2 different eye drops.
April 2nd - Make an appt with an opthamologist. He diagnosis me with allergic conjuctivitis. Puts me on Pataday (1x) Alamast (3x) and Tobradex (3 times in left eye only. Wants to see me back in a week
April 9th - Eye's feeling good again.Says thing on cornea is about 90% healed and cuts down on the eyedrops. I use them but use them less.

So here's the thing. It's only my left eye that bothers me. A couple days after the eye doctor I notice that there is this part on the white of my eye next to the brown that starts turning red ever so often. It flares up. Sometimes it turns red and then goes away. I happens ever so often daily. When the red flares up my eye starts hurting. Is that a patch of dryness. I am using artificial tears but it doesnt really help. I'm suspecting dryness because my eyes hardly tear up now. Ever since the infection. I think my eye sort of feels better with the contact but I need to test that. I wore them last night and the left eye was a little bothersome but not as annoying as the red flare up thing. I really don't know what it is. Let me just say my eye just stopped hurting this moment and it feels so good. I'm sure it's going to flare up again though.

Any insights? is it possible to have a patch of dryness on your eye? Anybody have dryness in one eye?

[Eyegirl]

Hmm all these views but no replies.

Hello might be nice..

Maybe I'll talk to myself. Writing has always been therapeutic.

I had alot of occular pain last night (in the left eye of course). I tried a warm compress but that didn't help. I did a cold compress and still nothing. This morning I put my contact in and it gave me relief. It still feels a little uncomfortable but it's better than that occular pain. Could that red spot that comes and goes really just be a corneal abrasion and that's why the contact makes it feel a little better?

I can't keep going back to the eye doctor all the time. So if anyone knows what I'm going through that would be nice.

[Guest]

Hi Eyegirl

Welcome to DEZ, sorry that you haven't received any direct response to your original post.

Talking and writing to yourself may be theraputic, I guess the good thing is that you should always get the same answer (unless you have multiple personalities).

The difficulty with DES is that we all present with differnt symptoms and no-one is able to provide a diagnosis over the internet.

I am not a doctor but the symptoms that you have described sound very similar to mine when I experience a corneal abrasion (bloodshot eyes, quite tender, immense pain).

It is my experience that the pain from a corneal abrasion can last anything from a few hours to a couple of days. Whilst an icepack does not work immediately, I find it helps take the pain away. My Dr told me when it happens to lubricate the eye, keep it closed as much as possible and put the ice pack on.

I can't advise you on whether to wear a contact lens or not, however, my DR immediately put a bandage lens in (Focus Night and Day) to help the abrasion heal - the lens was left in for nearly 3 weeks. Now, I am not prepared to suggest that you do the same thing, without of course consulting your DR.

Sometimes with DES until such time as you understand what is happening (and even when you do) the importance of visiting your Dr cannot be overlooked - after all this is your eyes that you are dealing with.

Again, welcome, maybe others can provide you with some tips. In the mean time, I know how stressful this can be, and I can assure you that this site is full of people to provide you with support along the way, sometimes they are just busy and will get around to responding when they can.

Hang in there

Prattstar

[Rebecca Petris]

It happens ever so often daily. When the red flares up my eye starts hurting. Is that a patch of dryness. I am using artificial tears but it doesnt really help. I'm suspecting dryness because my eyes hardly tear up now. Ever since the infection. I think my eye sort of feels better with the contact but I need to test that. I wore them last night and the left eye was a little bothersome but not as annoying as the red flare up thing. I really don't know what it is. Let me just say my eye just stopped hurting this moment and it feels so good. I'm sure it's going to flare up again though.

Eyegirl,

Some of what you're describing could be consistent with abrasions (and yes, dryness and abrasions can affect only one eye) but only a doctor who can actually examine you can say for sure. Have you had a chance to describe these flare-ups to your doctor and if so what does s/he say? If you're having erosions you really should see the doctor again. At the very least, call their office, talk to a nurse and describe what you're experiencing so they can tell you whether you should be examined and if not what to do.

[dianat]

Eyegirl,

I think the reason many have been hesitant to respond to you is because, quite frankly, we don't know what to say or what to offer. We're great for classic dry eye support, but outside of that it gets tricky for us lay people. This is not all bad news, however. You do not want to find yourself in our category.

Hang in there with us and we'll be supportive. My thought about your condition is that it may take you some time to get back to normal. Eye infections can be traumatizing and can cause dryness. Many of us have one eye that bothers us more than the other. There is no reason yet to believe it'll be permanent.

In the meantime, you reallly should peruse this site and add some of our rituals to your daily routine...it won't hurt anything. I'd start with hot compresses with a rice bag twice a day and start popping some omega fatty acid suppements. You can do a search on this site and you'll get loads of details.

Best,

Diana

[sazy123]

I'm suspecting dryness because my eyes hardly tear up now. Ever since the infection. I think my eye sort of feels better with the contact but I need to test that.

You say you hardly tear up at the moment and you have some discomfort wearing contacts. It is most likely that you do have DRY EYE as the main reason for contact lense discomfort is dry eye.

As for the patch of dryness where the redness is i think this is a question for a doctor you should try leaving a question for doctor latkany. But it could be that you have an irritated blood vessel in your left eye and the dryness is aggravating it.

Contact lenses can have a theraputic purpose in dry eye as they act like a barrier protecting the dry cornea from the enviroment. So this could be why your eye feels better in contacts.

Sorry i couldnt be more help but it does sound like you have dry eye which is adding stress to the problem you described. i wouldn't of thought it would be one patch of dryness, generally your whole eye would be dry.

[Eyegirl]

Thank you all fo responding. I went to the eye doctor yesterday because it was really hurting me. I went in and I was expecting him to find this huge ulcer or something because of the way it felt but he said he sees no ulceration and it's just a rough surface. A corneal abrasion if you will. He told me color contacts have a rougher surface than a clear one and since I was beginning to wear them again and my eye wasn't completely healed than this is what probably caused it.

He told me to up the doses of what I'm already taking (Tobradez & Alamast) until Monday and then go back to a smaller dose. He also gave me a pain reliever for the eye. Monday I'm supposed to wear my clear contacts and see if I can tolerate them for the majority of the day and continue this till Wednesday, when I am to go back in and see him so he can see how my eyes are reacting to the lens. It may be awhile before I can go back to colored lenses but I will be thankful enough if I can wear lenses period. On Wednesday I will ask him about dry eye. I have a feeling that medicated eye drops will cause me dry eye. I hope it's only temporary.

I do have another question though. Even if I don't really have dry eye. Do you guys see anything wrong with using artifical tears anyways?

[sazy123]

I do have another question though. Even if I don't really have dry eye. Do you guys see anything wrong with using artifical tears anyways?

No theres no harm in using artificial tears anyway if they help..

Did you get the eye doctor to test you for dry eye?