Sinus problems?

[brd888]

Does anyone have sinus blockage? Can this be related to dry eyes?

[neil0502]

You may want to use the "SEARCH" feature. There HAVE been lots of good discussions regarding the possible nexus between the two.

Count me in. Benzalkonium Chloride--a very common preservative in eyedrops--for example--is KNOWN to cause sinus problems (rhinitis medicamentosa, among others).

Sniff, sniff.

Neil

[Maria1972]

I tought it was teh other way around...sinus causing amore dry eys b/c of all the stuffines. I'm there too....

[brd888]

Nasal irrigation

Ok, well on "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jala_neti" there is info linking Nasal irrigation (cleaning of nasal cavity with salt water) to cleaning tear ducts as per -

"vision is clearer. Jala neti will actually clean the tear ducts enabling better cleaning and moistening of the eyes. "

Regards

[vgiriraj]

Sinus and dry eyes

I think there is a link between sinus and dry eyes. At least I think so sinus is the cause of dry eyes in my case. A traditional ayurvedic(herbal) doctor has said that in most cases he has seen sinusitis is the cause and he has treated it. In ayurvedic medicine the subject of eyes+ear+nose+throat is treated as one branch of medicine. I am now trying to treat the sinus and see if there is any good effect. Will share the good news with you, if any! V.Giriraj, Mumbai

[Maria1972]

I didn't find the trhead on sinus and dry eye. Where is it?
I do think there's a connection, my dry eye and sinus got worse last month and also after a bad cold with ear infection. I'll have to see my ENT to see if I can fix my sinus problem. I'm using Ocean saline but I think that's not enough.

[jcorbett]

actifed

I used to take a lot of Actifed for sinus problems. After receiving the gift of dry eyes through Lasik, I avoided Actifed entirely as I know it causes dry mouth and figured it also dried my eyes out and I have heard many people say that antihistamines make their eyes much worse. During a particularly trying time with allergies/sinuses, I decided to try actifed and see what happens. To my surprise, using antihistamines actually makes my eyes much better. I can feel the moisture come to my eyes. I've proved it out many, many times. My mouth gets dry, but my eyes are moist as can be.
Go figure.

[Maria1972]

Glad that it works for you!
That;s interesting...my first ophtamologist ( I dn't see him anymore) had a theory to tread dry eye with singulair with is an antihistamine (used for asthma mainly) I never tried it b/c I checkened out. His theory was that allergies makes dry eye worse and you need an antihistamine.


Also I've always thought if a medication causes dry mouht, it'll cause dry eyes but apparently some cause only dry mounth (?!)

[Lucy]

Early on ......"back in the olden days of lasik-induced dry eye" when we were trying to figure out just what WAS happening, I remember one ophthalmologist/lasik surgeon who basically said the following:

If you have allergies or sinus problems, it should be taken care of before you can get to the bottom of your dry eyes. (Obviously, I'm paraphrasing - but you get the drift.) Often, we still can't get to the bottom of our dry eyes, but this lasik doc did seem to think there was/could be a connection and it was in your best interest to get sinuses taken care of.

It has been written about many times that when we "have a cold or are congested" our eyes may feel better as our eyes are holding more moisture because of inflammation. There you have it............

Now, if you think this is an old wives' tale....you could be right, because I am one.

Lucy

[rubyslippers]

Several things. Medications used to dry up your sinuses will make your dry eye worse. After a rough bout of pink eye and many drops to deal with that I developed sinus infections. Use of the Neti pot helps both my eyes and my sinuses. I highly recommend it.

[lilahp]

Neti pot info request - what to use in it?

What do you use in your Neti pot? I tried saline solution but it isn't always a good thing for me, even the unpreserved kind. How about distilled water?

I use Sudafed every day for a deviated septum and sinus problems. Would love to get away from that, but at least, it's a one-ingredient decongestant. It doesn't seem to bother the eyes as much as not being able to breathe bothers the nose.

Thanks for the info!