sinuses and soreness around eyes

[neil0502]

I guess I'm just trying to determine what causes this horrible aching. From your post, it sounds like it is most definitely sinus related?

I wish I could give you a definite answer. The closest I can come is to say that eye pain IS a symptom of sinusitis, and that--when you look at the location of the sinuses in the head, it becomes pretty clear that--if you have an infection, or other disorder putting pressure on your sinuses--it could easily be felt in the eyes, too.

Other than the shower ... and Cindy and Lucy's suggestions, there are a couple possibles -- silly as they sound. If you're standing up, and you bend deeply down at the waist ... as though you're trying to touch your nose to your knees ... a sinus infection tends to cause a pretty obvious amount of discomfort in your face and head while you're "upside down" like that.

Another "try it and see" idea is: if you've been able to take a non-drying decongestant (NOT an antihistamine. Rather, something like Sudafed 12hr, or another pseudoephedrine product) safely before, you could try taking one today/tonight/tomorrow. If it clears up your head, you've probably got at least sinusitis (the inflammation), if not a full-blown infection. If that takes away some of your eye pain, then it's a safe bet that it's contributing to the discomfort. If it helps, then I'd definitely get to an ENT sooner than later. You may not have to be plagued by this issue, too.

Take a quick read through this, if you're up to it. A little knowledge isn't usually a dangerous thing

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/sinusitis.htm

[Cindy]

March Madness

It could also be the time of year. Every March (although not usually this early but we seem to be having early Spring type weather - rain, robins, 50 degrees) we Michiganders set up a squawk about how bad our eyes are feeling.

[sazy123]

Its wierd that this happens around my eyes (like stated below) but i only have bad sinuses when my eyes are feeling good, it rarely happens together. What is the name of doctors who specialise in sinus stuff? im getting really hacked of with it now, if its not my eyes its my sinuses!

what decongestants are non drying? what is the active ingredeant? we cant get nondrying sudafed in the UK, but is the ingredeant in something simular? coz we can get many diff sudafed decongestions.

The ethmoid sinuses are near the tear ducts in the corner of your eyes. Therefore, inflammation of these cavities often causes swelling of the eyelids and tissues around your eyes, and pain between your eyes. Ethmoid inflammation also can cause tenderness when you touch the sides of your nose, a loss of smell, and a stuffy nose.

[neil0502]

ENT's (Ear, Nose, and Throat), or Otolaryngologists treat sinuses.

http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/abo...yngologist.cfm

The primary active ingredient in Sudafed is pseudoephedrine -

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/d...r/a682619.html

It's a decongestant, not an antihistamine; therefore, it's not (at least in theory) drying in the same way as antihistamines are.

Seems like 60mg is an adult dose [1]

[1] http://www.lpch.org/HealthLibrary/Pa...tuffynose.html

[Peggy]

Shells,
I sent you a private note today and I am so sorry you are having a bad day!!!!!!!!! You must get a MRI from a Ear, nose and throat specialist...it will at least let you know one way or another especially if you are taking meds for sinusitis and dont have it. Because of the pressure I have had an xray and MRI unfortunately they say everything is all clear, I have also had sinus and allergy problems in the past but nothing like this, I think what neil said, I think it was neil ,the sinus system and lacrimal system are right on top of each other and so closely related. I think the surgery wreaked havoc with my system. Dont we all wish there were cut and clear answers to all of this...When I would speak to the eye dr. about the pressure and pain he immediately said go to the ent. dr because of course their surgery could have nothing to do with this kind of pain...but this kind of pain wasn"t present before the surgery. Just this week I tried not using the genteal gel its so funny that someone else has a post on it. I thought maybe I am not letting my eyes learn how to do their thing...I have to admit I am still in pain but I see a wee bit less of it. I am in your corner and hope you can get some relief
hang in there for both of us and let me know what happens!!!!!!!! Will be thinking of you till I hear back... Peggy

[sazy123]

neil you seem to know alot about it: the meds that have pseudoephedrine also have paracetaml in them, are you sure this is still nondrying? is it better to get one without paracetamal, they are 30mg pseudoephedrine? or one with 60mg.

ive had sinus pain on and off since december again, since my eyes have had some improvement i thought anyway-sinus got worse-but then it is winter. but i never have both extreemes sinus/dry eye at the same time so im just wondering if they are conected? what do you think? do ear noise throat people have to have there any particular sub speciality?just dont want to do same thing as i did when i went to eye doctors..

[neil0502]

In the States, Paracetamol is called Acetaminophen (Tylenol). It's a non-aspirin analgesic (pain reliever). It has few, if any, known side effects. Maybe potential skin rash. Having it in with the pseudoephedrine is probably a good thing.

If it were me, I'd take 60mg, but I weigh 190lbs and respond just fine to this medication. Maybe you'd want to start with 30mg and see if all is well.

It's really tough to speculate about just what you're experiencing, to be honest. As to picking an ENT: it is a good idea to call a few ENT's and ask them who they should see for sinuses, particularly. Of course, that presupposes that what you're dealing with really is sinus-related ... which is certainly possible. It's probably what I would do if I were you.

I hope you find the help you need. I'm sure we all do.

[Chris]

I'm another sinus sufferer this winter. It seems many people are having problems this year. My parents, who are in Florida, and many of their friends are having problems with sinuses too. My dad and I were on the antibiotic, the z-pak, and it didn't help either one of us.

I've had this terrible sinus since x-mas. I do many of the things suggested except the sudafed part. I'm on neurontin for corneal nerve pain and when the sinuses flare, it knocks out the effectiveness of the neurontin. It's just horrible.

I actually don't have much congestion, just pain and pressure in my sinuses and cheek, nose area.

Incidentally, my eyes went completely dry (from a schirmers 25 to 0 now) after a five-month sinus infection in 2001.

Shells, when my eyes get really dry, or if I don't put drops in every two hours, my eye and socket will ache like yours. Mine is not sinus related, it's just how my dry eye feels to me. I use Freshkote or Dwelle for it and they are the only eye drops that take away the ache. If I start to ache in my eye, then I have to use the drops every 15 minutes for the next hour and then the ache will go away.

Chris

[Peggy]

Chris,
I was just wondering about the neurontin for the corneal nerve pain. How does the pain present itself through your eye,around it? How much neurontin do you take and is it effective? You dont notice it drying your eyes out. I went to the drs. today and he is going to have a pharmacist make a compound med something like neurontin to use topically for the pain on the side of my face by the temple and down the side of my nose. I am willing to try anything at this point. I cant even sleep on the left side of my face and I am very sensitive to meds. Hope to hear back from you. Peggy

[neil0502]

Incidentally, my eyes went completely dry (from a schirmers 25 to 0 now) after a five-month sinus infection in 2001.

Wow. Is that odd or what.

Hey, Chris ... were you being treated with any medication during those five months ... whether for the sinus infection or anything else? Anything else that changed in your life, medically, other than the sinus infection?

I've finally got my first sinus issue of the season. I'm battling it with Sudafed and the WaterPik and "Grossan's Nasal Irrigator Tip," using a tank full of warm water, 2tsp of salt, and 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract. I do this twice a day. I'm also taking 5 grams of Ester-C for the next day or two.

Do my eyes feel worse right now? Yup. They sure do.

My plan for the remainder of the day is to use more drops, do my corn bag compress a time or two, then plug in my contacts and, hopefully, either go out running or biking. Physical activity like that tends to thin the secretions and ... um ... bring up and out some of the offending ... uh ... stuff.

To your health, everybody--ocular and otherwise!

[Chris]

When my eyes went dry during my sinus infection, I was on medication. I had tried three different antibiotics and was taking sudafed and motrin every day. About three days after taking the third antibiotic, I noticed my eyes starting to hurt again (like they did right after having lasik). This happened 1 1/2 years after my lasik surgery (At my 1 year lasik appointment, I had a schirmers of 25, oh, those were the days, short-lived though). My dry eye situation could have been a combination of everything including lasiked eyes that hadn't healed yet and were susceptible to any kind of trauma.

I take 2700 mg of Neurontin daily ( 900 mg/3x day). I am very high tolerant of medication, thus the high dose. I have (what some doctors think) is "nerve wind-up" in my eye. It means the nerve became so irritated and painful and now it's hard to get that nerve to settle down. If I didn't have to blink, I'd be pain free. The pain also goes down the side of my nose, in my gums and into the back of my throat. It also goes back into my head and over to my ear sometimes. The pain is directly on my cornea and it is a very specific spot, right where the lid hits the cornea.

On Neurontin, this pain is cut back dramatically. It doesn't get rid of regular old dry eye pain and discomfort though. Neurontin has been the only thing to help the nerve pain.

This sinus infection has just been very difficult. I have pain down the side of my nose and into my gums. My vicodin doesn't even help much. It's just been a bad winter for so many people.

I may try the sudafed next -- the non-drying kind.

[neil0502]

Wow, Chris. Brutal.

One caveat: the Pain Clinic started me on 500mg of Vicodin every 3-4 hours at the same time as they titrated me upward from 300mg to 2,700mg of Neurontin. By the time I got to 2,700mg/day (3 x 3, like you), I had horrible problems: dizziness, slurred speech, staggering, swollen glands, infection w/fever that didn't go away ... for about 9 months ... all kinds of problems. Some went away a few days after stopping the Neurontin altogether, but some never (it's been almost a year) went away at all (swollen glands, recurring low-grade fevers).

If you look carefully through the Neurontin Prescribing Instructions (link below), you'll see that it may be associated with all kinds of side effects. Also note that even a low dose of Hydrocodone (Vicodin), coupled with a low dose of Neurontin "potentiated" (increased) the effect of the Neurontin, so--at 2,700mg Neurontin, PLUS Vicodin, you may be taking an awful lot.

As a triathlete with a high tolerance for prescription meds ... I wasn't worried either ... until.

Just be really careful ... and stay very tuned in to any potential problems you might be experiencing.

NEURONTIN PI: http://www.pfizer.com/download/uspi_neurontin.pdf

LAWSUIT INFORMATION RE: NEURONTIN: http://www.onlinelawyersource.com/ne...e-effects.html

All the best,
Neil

[Lucy]

Neurontin

Neurontin gave me weird side effects and I didn't like it. Moreover, it made my eyes even more dry.

[neil0502]

Neurontin gave me weird side effects and I didn't like it. Moreover, it made my eyes even more dry.

Jeeze, Lucy ...

I "yada-yada-yada'd" my list of side effects so quickly that I didn't bother to include: increased dry eye and eye pain

You're absolutely right ... and those were listed on the known side effects.