Newbie

[erinlins]

I am so glad to have found this site and I hope everyone is doing well with their conditions. I have been dealing with dry eye for almost a year now and have had little success. My eyes are very red and veiny and I have swollen eyelids. Also, my eyelashes are falling out. Do you have any suggestions on how to reverse this process? I am in my early 20's and would like to stop this ageing!!

I've tried:

-stopped wearing contacts (10 year hydrogel wearer)
-lid scrubs---qtip n water
-restasis
-refresh drops

Thank you!!

oh and just a side note: does anyone feel better when wearing contacts? My eyes feel better with them on but I don't want to wear them b/c I feel they will cause more damage than good.

[sazy123]

Hi welcome to the zone.
eye lashs falling out is ussualy due to blepheritis and/or MGD. Lid scrubs/hot or cold compresses/doxy/omega 3 may help.

oh and just a side note: does anyone feel better when wearing contacts? My eyes feel better with them on but I don't want to wear them b/c I feel they will cause more damage than good.

This is because the contact is acting as a barrier for the cornea from the environment. There are people who wear contacts in this way if they can tolerate them.
Also there are many young people, me included, who think contacts were a cause or contributed to thier dry eye. So its really a catch 22 situation. there is that risk but If they really help with the symptoms and you can tolerate them it may be worth wearing them, but make sure you keep using drops. But if your eyes are red it might not be a good idea, you probally want to try and improve the dry eye and redness first.

How long have you been using restasis? what type of dry eye do you have? that will determin what treatment will work.

you will find lots of info about other treatments on this site and Dr Latkanys book. good luck.

[Rebecca Petris]

My eyes are very red and veiny and I have swollen eyelids. Also, my eyelashes are falling out. Do you have any suggestions on how to reverse this process? I am in my early 20's and would like to stop this ageing!!

Hi erinlins and welcome!

What does your doctor say is the cause? Do you have a diagnosis? Has there been any discussion of eyelid health or meibomian gland dysfunction? How about allergies?

You may want to read some of the introductory articles on our home page such as Dry Eye Syndrome and MGD.

[erinlins]

Thank you for your replys. I was diagnosed with a shirmer of 2-3 and mild mgd.