Recurrent corneal erosions

[Mcgoldilocks]

Hi, I have been suffering from what I now know are 'recurrent corneal erosions' since I was a child, but I only found out what they were this week! I have absolutely no idea why this keeps happening to me but i've read around this site and I have a few ideas.

I'm very glad to have found this site, as I didn't know anything about dry eye syndrome before, it's really good to hear that I'm not the only one and I'm so grateful for the suggestions posted on here. All the doctors and opticians I have been to before have been COMPLETELY useless.

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi there and welcome. Not that anyone really WANTS to join our club but since you've got RCEs I'm glad you've found us.

Based on your other post you sound like you have ABMD (also called EBMD or map dot fingerprint - a corneal dystrophy affecting the outer layer called the epithelium). Scraping this layer off in hopes that it will adhere better when it grows back is a perfectly viable way to treat this condition and I sincerely hope that it will help you.

Have your doctors ever used a soft contact lens as a bandage to promote healing after your erosions or after the scraping? If not, ask them about this specifically. It's a common and effective treatment.

For longer term care... I hope that the taping will help. Ointment like Lacrilube seems to be helpful to some people and not others. The Tranquileyes goggle is a very good way to keep the eyes protected at night and although there are no scientific studies on this I think it may help cut down on erosion frequency or severity. You can get it in the UK at www.eyeeco.co.uk, or you can get a wider selection of products by that company from our dry eye shop or from eyeeco.com. Also Dwelle drops have worked well for many people with erosions.

I wish there were any easy answers for ABMD and RCEs but there just aren't. At any rate you're in good company here - keep reading and keep asking and hopefully you'll find the right combination of treatments to get yours under control.

[jazhou]

Hi there and welcome. Not that anyone really WANTS to join our club but since you've got RCEs I'm glad you've found us.

Based on your other post you sound like you have ABMD (also called EBMD or map dot fingerprint - a corneal dystrophy affecting the outer layer called the epithelium). Scraping this layer off in hopes that it will adhere better when it grows back is a perfectly viable way to treat this condition and I sincerely hope that it will help you.

Have your doctors ever used a soft contact lens as a bandage to promote healing after your erosions or after the scraping? If not, ask them about this specifically. It's a common and effective treatment.

For longer term care... I hope that the taping will help. Ointment like Lacrilube seems to be helpful to some people and not others. The Tranquileyes goggle is a very good way to keep the eyes protected at night and although there are no scientific studies on this I think it may help cut down on erosion frequency or severity. You can get it in the UK at www.eyeeco.co.uk, or you can get a wider selection of products by that company from our dry eye shop or from eyeeco.com. Also Dwelle drops have worked well for many people with erosions.

I wish there were any easy answers for ABMD and RCEs but there just aren't. At any rate you're in good company here - keep reading and keep asking and hopefully you'll find the right combination of treatments to get yours under control.

Hi Rebecca, can you educate me what the cornea erosion is? What is the symptom? and How is it diagnosed? My doctors never mentioned this to me before, but sometimes there are so much pain on my eyes, I wonder if I have this. Thanks,

[Mcgoldilocks]

Hi there and welcome. Not that anyone really WANTS to join our club but since you've got RCEs I'm glad you've found us.

Based on your other post you sound like you have ABMD (also called EBMD or map dot fingerprint - a corneal dystrophy affecting the outer layer called the epithelium). Scraping this layer off in hopes that it will adhere better when it grows back is a perfectly viable way to treat this condition and I sincerely hope that it will help you.

Have your doctors ever used a soft contact lens as a bandage to promote healing after your erosions or after the scraping? If not, ask them about this specifically. It's a common and effective treatment.

For longer term care... I hope that the taping will help. Ointment like Lacrilube seems to be helpful to some people and not others. The Tranquileyes goggle is a very good way to keep the eyes protected at night and although there are no scientific studies on this I think it may help cut down on erosion frequency or severity. You can get it in the UK at www.eyeeco.co.uk, or you can get a wider selection of products by that company from our dry eye shop or from eyeeco.com. Also Dwelle drops have worked well for many people with erosions.

I wish there were any easy answers for ABMD and RCEs but there just aren't. At any rate you're in good company here - keep reading and keep asking and hopefully you'll find the right combination of treatments to get yours under control.

I've never had the contact lens bandage, what puzzles me is that I've had two bad erosions for which I've had the epithelium scraped off, and I have also had an appointment at a laser eye surgery clinic when I thought about having it done, all those times they have made detailed examinations of my eyes, taking all sorts of photos and putting coloured drops in my eye, they have taken my history and I've told them about the problems I've had before... and yet none of these doctors have mentioned to me what this condition actually was, or anything I could do to prevent it. This really worries me, particularly in the case of the laser eye clinic, wouldn't my condition make me more susceptible to problems if I had gone ahead with the surgery?

I am in the UK, I haven't seen Dwelle drops on sale - what do they do and do you know if there is a UK equivalent? At the moment I use Celluvisc drops as well as the lacri-lube at night, and sometimes vis-lube during the day.