Eye pain for over a year now..Please help!

[amandarhim]

Hi there. Im a 21 year old woman living in the US, and I've been dealing with a huge amount of pain over the course of a year.
My eyes have been burning and itchy for the past year, as well as it feels like something is in my left eye constantly.
I've seen 7 different doctors, consisting of 2 optometrists, 3 opthamoligists, a physician, and an allergist.
It was first diagnosed as Giant Papillary Conjuntitivis and Blephritis, followed by dry eye and now allergic conjunctivitis.
I've tried a multitude of medication, including Lotemax, Prednisone, Alrex, Bepreve, and Pataday. I just started treatment for allergy medication drops, but I'm worried there won't be an end to this pain. I've also adjusted to my environment to get rid of all potential allergens (i.e., bought a purifier, eyelid cleaners, artificial tears, dust-mite proof pillows, etc), but these things have little to no effect on my eyes.

If anyone who has had a similar experience or just has advice on the next step of this, i would very much appreciate it. It's very hard to go day-by-day with this constant eye pain.

[farmgirl]

Hi Amanda:

Upon reading your post I note one constant. The Drs have consistently prescribed you medications preserved with BAK.

Lotemax...BAK, Alrex....BAK, Bepreve...BAK, Pataday.....BAK, Prednisolone....BAK

Notice a common thread here? BAK is the most common preservative in eye drops and is well known to cause severe problems especially in compromised eyes. Personally if I had a small problem before I will have a BIG problem if I put BAK in my eyes. I have to question if all these drops are not helping but making you worse because of the BAK. I have attached a recent thread where BAK became the topic of the discussion. Read this through, give it some thought as to how it relates to your timeline and draw your own conclusions. I don't know what your current allergy drop is but I am guessing BAK is the preservative.


http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/forum...ible-neuralgia

Personally I will not longer let the stuff touch my eyes because number one my reactions are so severe, much worse than the problem I am trying to cure and number two if you didn't have problem before you could have one after using BAK and number three because there are usually non preserved alternatives available.

Studies both in vitro and in vivo have widely demonstrated that exposure to preservatives (even at low doses) results in histological, inflammatory and toxic changes at the surface of the eye. Therefore, on the basis of all these experimental and clinical reports, it is advisable to use BAK-free solutions whenever these are available on the market.


I hope this information helps....F/G

[MGD1701]

Hi Amanda

Lid cleanser: Which brand do you use?
Effective/safe like Avenova or Heyedrate Lid & Lash, with pure hypochlorous acid, should help you.
There are many articles/videos on such issue.

Find a real expert to examine/press your glands function is very critical - many doctors still do not check it.

[amandarhim]

Hi Amanda

Lid cleanser: Which brand do you use?
Effective/safe like Avenova or Heyedrate Lid & Lash, with pure hypochlorous acid, should help you.
There are many articles/videos on such issue.

Several doctors also said I had (allergic) conjunctivitis but I read somewhere that
it is actually dry eye. Since untreated (for some years), I developed serious RC Erosion for some years,

Find a real expert to examine/press your glands function is very critical - many doctors still do not check it.

Hi,

I used to use OcuSoft Lid Cleaner for my lids, but now I use Johnson's Baby Shampoo.

[MGD1701]

Woo, Baby shampoo is bad, more doctors do not recommend it now - there are many articles on this.
It may kill bacterias in some degrees but it dry out your skin and it contains bad chemicals too etc.

I used Ocusoft Original (foam) once - pretty good. They also have lid cleaner/spray with hypochlorous acid,
or you could try to find alternatives. Good luck!

[DryGuySmb2]

I know you have seen a physician who probably prescribed oral antihistamines and If you have tried them disregard, but if you haven't they could give you some relief? Dry eyes are a side effect of antihistamines unfortunately, but it could cut the burning and itching.

I would not recommend Zyrtec as I have been having a lot of problems trying to stop it without becoming super itchy all over my body (apparently it's a thing, and it's awful), but when I first started having severe burning pain it was the only thing that actually calmed it down. Benadryl may be super sedative and doesn't last as long, but it is more powerful than the 2nd generation antihistamines and could give you some relief.....if it doesn't work for that it maybe can give you some sleep, I know how tough it is to sleep when your eyes are constantly burning.

[PhoenixEyes]

I second the suggestion for a hypochlorous cleanser instead of Johnson's baby shampoo. As you're in the US Heyedrate Lid Lash would be worth a look. The same company also started selling a tea tree soap which may be helpful.

https://www.amazon.com/Heyedrate-Ble...dp/B06VW5J11K/

https://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Anti...dp/B071GWBL1M/

You could also consider moisture chamber glasses which have a shield which may reduce the air irritants reaching your eyes hopefully, for example Ziena, 7Eye, WileyX.

https://www.zienaeyewear.com/pages/how-ziena-works

https://7eye.com/

http://www.wileyx.com/products/series/climate-control

Have you ever tried preservative free topical antibiotics? For example chloramphenicol with paraffin eye ointment, Oftaquix eye drops etc.

Autologous serum / autologous blood was helpful for me to take the edge off the pain and inflammation, worth seeing if you can access this via your eye doctor.

[sophie0416]

Hi Amanda! I’ve had the issue; I’m a 26 years old women and recently moved to the US from a very tropical weather. I wonder if this dry wind contributed to my dry eye síndrome? Anyway, did you get blood work done? after a year trying to understand what is wrong with me, I discovered that first of all, my birthcontrol started my dry eye. I also have a thyroid disorder and super low on vitamin D.
Do you take vitamins like flax seed oil and fish oil? If you feel inflammation I strongly recommend you give them a try. They’re kinda cheap and after about 2 weeks I could totally tell the difference.

i basically don’t have dry eyes anymore, I’m slowly going back to normal, I’m depressed cause I can’t wear any eye makeup, eyeshadows totally kill me, I feel like I have sand on my eyes! (Can you wear eyeshadow btw?)

[mbperso]

Hi Amanda,

I recommend you to do :
Lipiview, then you will be sure if the cause comes from the Meibomian glands. I think it should be done in case of any suspicion of dry eye.
Ask your TBUT (>10sec is ok)
Tear test: Schirmer or a quick Test with Phenol Red Thread (15sec, ok if >20).

[farmgirl]

Yeah but don't forget Sophie, you are the one who did the miraculous unclogging of some of your glands in the last couple of weeks which was probably your biggest game changer.

[sophie0416]

Hi farmgirl! Yes I totally recommend to do warm compresses and massage eyelids every night! It’s a lot of work but you can totally feel the difference! Now I’m wonderinf if I have a makeup allergy? Since I barely have dry eyes anymore only when I wear makeup!

[amandarhim]

Hi Amanda! I’ve had the issue; I’m a 26 years old women and recently moved to the US from a very tropical weather. I wonder if this dry wind contributed to my dry eye síndrome? Anyway, did you get blood work done? after a year trying to understand what is wrong with me, I discovered that first of all, my birthcontrol started my dry eye. I also have a thyroid disorder and super low on vitamin D.
Do you take vitamins like flax seed oil and fish oil? If you feel inflammation I strongly recommend you give them a try. They’re kinda cheap and after about 2 weeks I could totally tell the difference.

i basically don’t have dry eyes anymore, I’m slowly going back to normal, I’m depressed cause I can’t wear any eye makeup, eyeshadows totally kill me, I feel like I have sand on my eyes! (Can you wear eyeshadow btw?)

I did get blood work done actually, and everything turned out normal. I do take fish oil also.

I occasionally wear eye-makeup on the weekend, but i have switched over to hypoallergenic makeup so it doesn't tend to hurt my eyes.

[sophie0416]

I can’t wear any, not even hypoallergenic : (