White, stringy eye discharge...

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andypatterson24 - 26 Nov 2006 03:34 GMT

Hello All

Quick Rundown: I am 24 years old and have been wearing soft contact
lenses for 10 years. I am a -11.5 in my left eye and a -9.0 in my
right. I wear toric lenses. 3-4 weeks ago, my toddler son contracted
viral conjunctivitis which he gave to me. The immediate symptoms of
that went away after a few days, but ever since, I have had a white,
stringy discharge that makes wearing my contact impossible (only
happening in left eye). I have been to the eye doctor several times in
the last 2 weeks. I have been prescribed Alcon Tobradex, PredForte,
Refresh PM ointment, and a Z-pack antibiotic. None of these have
corrected my problem.

Does anyone have a suggestion on what I have and/or what I can do to
resolve the issue? It's taking a real toll on my as I can not focus my
left eye which causes an imbalance and headaches. Thanks in advance
for reading this....

Andy

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Mike Tyner - 27 Nov 2006 04:58 GMT

> viral conjunctivitis which he gave to me. The immediate symptoms of
> that went away after a few days, but ever since, I have had a white,
> stringy discharge that makes wearing my contact impossible (only
> happening in left eye).

White, stringy gunk we call "ropy strands" are classified as a "mucoid"
discharge and they aren't common in viral pinkeye.

Ropy strands are common in dry eye, and sometimes with allergies.

Many times after viral pinkeye, there's a "fragile" period where, if you
resume lens wear too soon, it's uncomfortable and the redness tends to come
back.

That isn't exactly what's happening to you, but it's safe to reason that
your cornea is just healing, perhaps recovering from reaction to the
steroids or antibiotic or preservatives you've dumped in your eye.

> Does anyone have a suggestion on what I have and/or what I can do to
> resolve the issue? It's taking a real toll on my as I can not focus my
> left eye which causes an imbalance and headaches. Thanks in advance
> for reading this....

My best suggestion is to wear glasses until the discharge clears up, then
try contacts briefly and cautiously.

-MT, OD

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Neil Brooks - 27 Nov 2006 15:22 GMT

> That isn't exactly what's happening to you, but it's safe to reason that
> your cornea is just healing, perhaps recovering from reaction to the
> steroids or antibiotic or preservatives you've dumped in your eye.

I'm not a doctor, BUT ... I'm a patient who has done quite a bit of
research into the preservatives used in many eyedrops.

Both drops that you mentioned having used are preserved with
Benzalkonium Chloride (BAK). BAK is well documented [1] to cause
damage to the surface of the eye ... very quickly. Odds are very good
that IF this is what you are experiencing (it surely does fit), it will
resolve on its own.

[only one citation here, documenting SHORT-term damage done by BAK to
the surface of the eye.....]

[1]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=R
etrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=16688112

Impact of short-term exposure of commercial eyedrops preserved with
benzalkonium chloride on precorneal mucin.Chung SH, Lee SK, Cristol SM,
Lee ES, Lee DW, Seo KY, Kim EK.
Institute of Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, Yonsei
University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. sohhyang@hanmail.net

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to investigate the short-term effects
of benzalkonium chloride (BAC), a preservative used in many ophthalmic
topical solutions, on precorneal mucin in humans. METHODS: Immortalized
human corneal-limbal epithelial (HCLE) cells were exposed to eyedrops
containing BAC solutions at 0.0025% and 0.01% concentrations for a
period of 15 min. Human corneal epithelium was acquired with consent,
as a byproduct of elective excimer photorefractive keratectomy
procedures after application of Ocuflox eyedrops (0.3% ofloxacin with
0.0025% BAC) for 1 week before surgery. The relative expression of the
MUC1 and MUC16 mucin gene was determined by conventional and real-time
reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Monoclonal
antibodies for MUC1 (HMFG-1) and MUC16 (OC125) were used in western
blot analysis to detect MUC1 and MUC16. Human corneas exposed to 0.01%
BAC solutions were examined by transmission electron microscopy.
RESULTS: The expression of MUC1 and MUC16 gene transcripts was not
changed after exposure to BAC in HCLE cells and human corneal
epithelium. However, MUC1 and MUC16 were reduced after exposure to BAC
in HCLE cells and human corneal epithelium. Transmission electron
microscopy of the anterior corneal surface revealed fixation of the
mucous layer after exposure to 0.01% BAC for 5 or 15 min; prolonged
exposure (60 min) to 0.01% BAC destroys the mucous layer. CONCLUSIONS:
This study demonstrates that short-term exposure to BAC can alter the
precorneal mucin.

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