Anti-histamines

[Leo]

I know that anti-histamines are used for eye allergies but do they help with redness? My eyes aren’t watery or itchy. The package of these allergy pills doesn’t mention redness at all. Do you think my eye redness may not be due to allergies?

[Rojzen]

pls fill us in or refer to...

Hi, Leo - -
Have you described your redness in another post? I've lost track of very recent postings, and so if you'll direct us to where you may have provided a little more detail, perhaps your problem will be easier to troubleshoot. Should we, for example, assume that you have ongoing redness with no other symptoms? Also, do you have some input from an eye doc, at this point? We've had some posts recently on use of Benadryl or Claritin and its negative and sometimes positive benefits for symptoms. . .Possibly these are relevant?

[kitty]

Be careful, antihistamines can be very drying and could actually make your eyes feel worse.

[Leo]

I wear soft contacts (Focus Night & Day)

Hi Rojzen,

I wear soft contacts (Focus Night & Day) but my redness seems to be unrelated to my contacts wear because when I wake up they're bloodshot. I have an appoinement to see my optometrist tomorrow. I saw my family Dr yesterday and he said I should switch to another anti-histamine if this one isn't working. But is it really eye allergies? They're not itchy or watery.

Leo

[Leo]

I forgot to add

They're not dry either!

[Rojzen]

connections

I see, Leo. . .Ok. . .Lots to consider. . .Your optometrist will probably look for a number of possible causes for the redness. . .

I'm not clear whether the antihistamine you're taking is a systemic/oral one, or a topical one, like Patanol. . .In any case, and as I hope the optometrist will echo, a sensation of dryness may not be present, even with a diagnosis of "dry eye". . .As others will attest, sometimes the wettest, drippiest eyes are the ones with the greatest ocular surface and tear abnormalities. . ."Dry" becomes a misnomer, in those cases, but the term is still applied. . .

Ideally, the optometrist will start from scratch, and not assume that either the contacts or the antihistamine are causing the redness. . .and s/he will determine whether tests for "dry eye" are in order. . .Even if the redness comes about when the lenses are not in, lenses may be deemed to play a role; and whether the antihistamines are contributing, in some way, can be explored as a separate matter. . .

Though things remain wide open, for the moment, I do want to refine something posted a little earlier. . .Yes, many who take oral antihistamines suffer a reduction in tear production, or, at least, the sensation of greater dryness in the eyes. . .but this is not a universal response. Just a few days ago, two of us here posted favorable reactions to antihistamines. In my case, if I take Claritin during pollen allergy season (I am severely allergic to several pollens), I spare my eyes from severe irritation that greatly complicates my dry eye syndrome, which is largely caused by defunct meibomian/eyelid glands. . .But I still produce some tears, and so perhaps this is why I GROOVE on oral histamines, while others with DES/dry eye syndrome who don't produce a lot of tears don't do well with antihistamines. . .

Let us know what you learn tomorrow. . .

[Leo]

Episcleritis

I went to the eye doctor today and he did a thorough test. He put those drops in my eyes that dilate the pupils and took pics of the back of the eyes, etc. He said the redness in my left eye is called Episcleritis and that it will resolve spontaneously in a couple of weeks. He also said he doesn't think I have MGD, probably because I do warm compresses. He didn't think the redness is due to allergies and said I shouldn't use the anti-redness drops and recommended cold compresses.