Endless suffering

[Shahara]

I'm a 25 yr. old sri lankan girl, living in germany since 12 years! My dry eyes began in 2002, most probably due to hay fever, and after using different kind of medications to tackle the eye infections! My allergies went away, but my dry eyes became worse, and unbearable, 2005 I was a wrack I hardly went out due to the eyes! then in autumn 2005 I got my upper tear ducts cauterized! 2006 I found about Restasis, and since then I'm on it! And my eyes did get better but still the dryness does drive me nuts!
I got the punctum plugs on my lower ducts, but they keep falling out constantly! !!
Life sucks due to this sickness!

[sai1930]

Hi, Sorry abt your troubles, All of us have same problem & will be glad to help.
You havent mentioned what kind of dry eye problem you have, Fewer Tears or Tear Evaportation or the GlobetCells issue. I am guessing its Fewer Tears.
Please go thru the articles on this site,there is so much information on how to manage the problem. I also strongly advice you to buy Dr Latkany's Book - The DryEye Remedy.
After reading the book you will understand the entire picture about dry eye & will learn how to manage it.

Believe me!!! after you spend a few months on this site, you will start feeling a whole lot better.

As far as permanent cure goes, its not curable yet, but with the amount of research being done on this issue, i am hopeful for a cure soon.

[dianat]

There are several methods and drops we all use to get through our days. There were days in my past where dry eye got the better of me. But, now I manage my eyes and get to do all the things I always did.

Do some searching on this site. Read about:

warm compresses
omega fatty acid supplements
humifiers
goggles
Tranquileyes
the eyedrops sold on this site
nighttime gels

All of these things will help you make a difference in your comfort. If your plugs keep coming out there are solutions to that, too. Perhaps you need a different size plug. You can also have your tear ducts cauterized if you've exhausted the other possibilities.

Diana

[Shahara]

How to avoid eye infections when having plugs?

My lower plugs keep falling out constantly! NOw my eyedoc. ordered a different size! Does it help if you wash the corners of your eye's with salt, when having Plugs to avoid infections?
My eyes itch bad when having plugs, and then they fall out! That sucks

Would be thankful for any advices

[calli66]

Not sure about the salt to stop itching. I had a bad time with itching and inflammation when all 4 puncta were plugged.

One of my lower plugs has fallen out twice--they keep putting a bigger one in each time, but the only "final" solution is cautery. I think I was rubbing the lids with the edge of my washcloth (after doing the compresses)--maybe that pulled the plug out. I'm much more careful now. I try not to rub my eyes and use Q-tips on the lids.

Here's my thought: if a plug falls out, wait at least a week before getting it replaced. I noticed the punctum opening lost its "muscle tone" right after the plug fell out. I'm thinking that it has to come back to "normal" before it will hold a new plug securely.

Calli

[Shahara]

Hi Calli

since when do u have dry eyes? Are u on restasis?

Do the infections go away when the plugs get used to the eyes?

thanks

[calli66]

Shahara,

I've had dry eyes since about 2003. I had a Schirmer's of 2, and the eye doctors kept asking if I had Sjogren's Syndrome and I never got tested until this summer (I have it). I didn't get plugs until this year, and the lowers didn't do much. My eyes were irritated from the lowers, but they settled down in about 2 weeks. Having upper plugs really increased inflammation for me. I thought it would settle down, and it would sort of start to---then flare up again. So I gave up after 5 weeks.

I have the Sjogren's, which is an inflammatory condition to begin with, so my eyes might not be a good indicator of how long it takes to feel better. Your eyes might stabilize eventually.

You say you have "infections"---but is it really like a bacterial infection or just supremely uncomfortable inflammation? The problem I had was mostly at the inner corners of the eye, where it would be terribly itchy, moist, and sort of "chapped"--cracking skin. Just felt awful. The only thing that helped was to put a tiny bit of petroleum jelly on the skin (not in the eye) to protect it from the excess moisture.

You have your upper puncta cauterized, so really, your eyes don't have any way to rid themselves of irritants, so that might be causing the problem. The Restasis might be too strong. Try quitting it for a few days, and see if you feel better. Another option is to just leave the Restasis in for 3 minutes and then rinse it all out with preservative-free drops.

Calli