Swollen eyes?

[Julie1]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if you could take a look at this picture and help me figure out what is causing my swollen eyelids. I may be vain, but the swollen eyelids really do affect how I feel about myself. Does anyone have any ideas? This picture is what my eyes look like now (ugly). I do not have any make-up on in this picture, so that is why it is kind of scary looking. I am going to post a picture of what I used to look like right before the onset of my dry eye symptoms. I was able to wear contacts without any problems.

Thanks for any opinions and suggestions.

Julie

[Rebecca Petris]

Not the kind of answer you're looking for I know, but my first thought looking at this picture was that you have really beautiful eyes!

[Mika]

wat??? where's the swollen eyelids??????????? dont see it julie!!!!!!!!!

andyep ur eyes is very white and clear...only the right one is a VERY LITTLE bloodshot ..dats all...
its clear

[Julie1]

This picture is what my eyes look like when I first wake up in the morning. Fortunately, my boyfriend is not afraid of my eyes in the morning. I couldn't find a before picture, so I'll let that one go.

My eyelids are usually extremely swollen in the morning, then the swelling subsides later in the day. I also have what looks like bruising right at the base of my eyelashes. I never, ever used to have this problem before I took the medications that are correlated with the onset of my dry eye. My eyes also look kind of dull now and the insides of my eyelids are often tomato red. Are the swollen eyelids, dull eyes, and red eyelids common of dry eye or something else? Do anyone else's eyes look like mine?

Thanks so much everyone for your opinions. I appreciate it more than you know.

Julie

[Julie1]

Thanks, Rebecca and Mikastef, for your compliments. I guess maybe I think that they are worse than they really are. I just know that they are not the eyes that I was born with and I am more sensitive of the differences of my eyes pre and post dry eye.

I am curious as to whether anyone else experiences this same swelling because I think that is what bothers me the most right now. I wish I could get my eyelids drained so that I did not feel the pressure every morning.

Thanks, Julie

[Rebecca Petris]

Julie, you've probably posted about this but I can't quite remember. Have you explored/experimented with all the potential night time allergy issues? That's the first variable I would try to eliminate for swollen eyelids especially since it's clearly happening at night and dissipating during the day.

Pillowcase, pillow, sheets, detergents, drops, eye masks... With compromised tear film you could be more sensitive to something in the mix somewhere.

I've had swollen eyelids like this before but to the best of my recollection only after crying or surgery or an unrelated eye condition.

[Julie1]

Hi Rebecca,

About four months after the onset of my dry eye, I did get allergy tested and the allergist said that the only allergies I had were a very slight allergy to molds and dust mites. I'm also wondering if the compromised tear film would make the dust mite allergy more evident even if I never had problems before. I tried sleeping with swimming goggles and that helped tremendously. However, I later found out that it's not safe to sleep with swimming goggles and tried sleeping with the traquileyes. The swimming goggles were more successful in keeping my eyes from getting swollen and inflammed. I slept well and noticed that I was not nearly as swollen. I wonder what else I could do besides wearing the tranquileyes to help prevent my eyes from getting so swollen. I know that I am not allergic to the traquileyes since it happens with or without the tranquileyes. Also, the swelling happens regardless of what drops or lubricants that I use. The common variable seems to be sleep (or perhaps where I am sleeping). Maybe I should try sleeping on an air mattress... no dust mites there.

I would welcome any other suggestions or opinions or even ways to avoid the swelling. I look really scary in the morning!
I use ice every morning to try to get the swelling down before I go to work.
My doctor said that the problem was genetics, but this swelling did not happen until the DES started. I did not have swollen eyelids before DES, so I like your point, Rebecca, that the swelling might be allergy related.

[YGB]

Julie - my lids look similar to yours (although my eyes are not as nice . Also, my swollen lids are worse in the am and get better as the day goes on (although sometimes after a long day they revert back to more swelling). Since MD's see swelling much worse than what you and I have, it is "underwhelming" to them. However, like you, I know the lids are swollen, and more importantly, I feel that the lids are swollen.

One of my recommendations is to not use ice in the morning (actually while some use ice on the eyes, I prefer not to). Ice is good for reducing swelling in some cases, but not all. Instead, I recommend doing a warm compress in the morning.

My compresses with a warm wash cloth take 15 minutes. While some say 5 minutes or less is sufficient, I don't think that is sufficient for my lids. The reason I say this is because I feel some of the "plugged" glands loosening up between the 5-15 minute mark. I know that they are the plugged glands because my eye gets scratchy in the area and sometimes when I look, I see the oil on my eyelash in the zone that is scratching (it looks stringy and typically comes from my upper eyelids - especially the right eye which is more problemmatic for me). This doesn't happen all of the time. However, it has happened the last 2-3 days for me. I'm hoping that it's a sign that the oils in the glands are slowly getting looser to at least some degree.

At night, I just use a humidifier in my room next to my bed. No gels or other things at this time. I'm not saying this is the way to go since my eyelids are also swollen in the morning (although not every morning). Also, doxycycline and/or restasis may help reduce the inflammation to a certain degree.

However, I will say that my lids were a lot worse than they are now when I got on doxy and it helped to a certain point. When the swelling was reduced to its current point (again similar to yours), the MD said that the doxy likely wouldn't take the swelling any further down. The MD said that I should keep using the doxy for "a while" to maintain the reduced swelling. The other thing that helped my swelling was removing the plugs in my eyes.

Of course, each individual is different, but this is what I have discovered based on my experience. Best. YGB

[charmee]

Hi,

I have that too. My eyelids are swollen, worse in the morning, and my lash line looks like I have purple eyeliner on.

In my case, I know something is irritating my face also, or maybe I have a mild rosacea. I'm waiting to see a dermotologist.

Do you use soap or chemical sunscreens on your face? I did. I just switched to a facial cleanser without Sodium lauryl sulfate or fragrance. It's too soon to say if it'll help my eyes, but my face is happier.

I'm pretty darn sure that chemical sunscreens were making my eyes worse. So I switched to the "safe" sunscreen ingredients: zinc or titanium.
But they were heavy, greasy, left a whitish cast, and make me break out. But I my eyes were less swollen.

So now I'm trying a sheer foundation with SPF instead of sunscreen. The way they formulate the Zinc/Titanium in a foundation isn't so thick and greasy. So far so good, but it's too soon to tell.

Cool packs, sleeping propped up, and tranquil eyes help reduce eye swelling. I've never tried it but Preparation H under the eyes is supposed to take the bags away if you get really swollen.

Charmee

[Lucy]

Cool packs, sleeping propped up, and tranquil eyes help reduce eye swelling. I've never tried it but Preparation H under the eyes is supposed to take the bags away if you get really swollen.

Please, no one try that (Prep H). Those of us with long standing dry eyes have seen horror stories of people putting weird stuff around their eyes/face/scalp and creating a much more difficult situation for themselves.

Unless your doc recommends it, please don't use it.

Lucy

[Julie1]

Since MD's see swelling much worse than what you and I have, it is "underwhelming" to them. However, like you, I know the lids are swollen, and more importantly, I feel that the lids are swollen.

I know what you mean. They probably don't even see it as a problem since there are so many other eye conditions that they feel are more problematic.


YGB - Thank you so much for your comments. I have been taking minocycline for about 1 1/2 months now, along with Omega 3's, sleeping with a humidifier, using warm compresses in the morning and before bed. I've been using Restasis for about 10 months and have lower plugs and upper flow controller plugs. Everything is helping, just not as much as I would like. It really helps to know that there is someone else out there that has the same swelling. I guess I just need to tell myself that it could be worse.

Charmee - Thank you also for your comments. I know exactly what you mean about the purple eyeliner. I joke that I do not have to wear eye make up anymore since I have my own natural eyeliner. It's not the color that I would have picked, but I can't do anything about it.

The cold packs do help more than anything.

Do the whites of your eyes also look "dirty?" I think it might be the redness underneath the eyelids that are causing the whites to look "dirty."

My eyes are swollen regardless of the type of products I use on my face. I'm glad that you are figuring out what is causing your eyes to act up.

[Julie1]

Mikastef's post regarding the glasses helped to figure out why my eyes don't look as bad in the pictures as I think that they do when I look in the mirror. Digital pictures do not capture the red, bloodshot eyes. That could be a good thing -- at least I don't have to be as paranoid about getting my picture taken as I have been in the past year. Anyway, thanks for your responses. If you have any more tips for managing the swollen eyelids or if you have swollen eyelids, please let me know. I really appreciate any comments or suggestions and it really helps to not feel so alone.

Thanks! Julie