Dry eye/wet eye?

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Salmon Egg - 19 Mar 2007 02:33 GMT

I first got a diagnosis of dry eye about three or four years ago. I
complained that my eye felt "sandy". I was given some lubricant for that
and it seemed to help.

Since then, the sandy feeling seems to be gone. In place are watery eyes.
The tears affect my vision. I was told that the problem is dry eye and that
my eyes are generating tears to cope. In one eye, my right, the flow is
incessant. It wets my cheek. It drips down onto my keyboard. I was told to
use the drops seven, eight times a day. No matter how much I use, the
problem persists.

Any suggestions?

Bill
-- Fermez le Bush--about two years to go.

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Neil Brooks - 19 Mar 2007 04:37 GMT

> I first got a diagnosis of dry eye about three or four years ago. I
> complained that my eye felt "sandy". I was given some lubricant for that
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> use the drops seven, eight times a day. No matter how much I use, the
> problem persists.

You've just entered another Pandora's box--this one has a thousand
treatments and no cures.

Has anybody done a thorough dry eye workup on you, including rose
bengal/lissamine green staining, tear meniscus height, meibomian gland
function, tear breakup time, interferometry, etc.?

If not, then you should probably seek out an OD or MD who specializes
in dry eye to find out what /kind/ of dry eye you have, and why.

Example: there's aqueous deficient and there's evaporative. Some
people have both. There are inflammatory conditions.

Different treatments have greater likelihood than others depending on
what type of dry eye you have. You could be helped by NSAIDs, steroid
drops, ocular antihistamines, doxycycline, or other options.

Meanwhile, there are some zero-risk possibles that you can try.

- switch drops. Try something different, BUT PRESERVATIVE FREE. The
preservatives are--almost universally--horrible for dry eyes. Maybe
Genteal mild-to-moderate. I'm not a big believer in using eyedrops
more than 4-6 times a day, but ... it's based only on a theory (that--
by excessive use of eye drops--you "short-circuit" the neural feedback
loop and decrease the tear production over time)

- check ANY eyedrops you're using. If you're using ANYTHING preserved
with Benzalkonium Chloride ("BAK"), find an alternative that's not
preserved. BAK ate my eyes. It'll eat yours, too ;-)

- Flax Seed Oil. Start taking 2tsp a day of the liquid stuff;

- Warm compresses [1]

- Lid scrubs/hygiene [1]

[1] Descriptions of these, and much, much more good info, can be found
at www.dryeyezone.com. Find the user forum. Good people. Good
info. Good eye docs (including s.m.v.'s own Dr. Leukoma :-)).

Best of luck. Dry eye isn't fun.

Neil

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Salmon Egg - 21 Mar 2007 22:57 GMT

On 3/18/07 8:37 PM, in article
1174275454.122317.264370@p15g2000hsd.googlegroups.com, "Neil Brooks"
<neil0502@yahoo.com> wrote:

> You've just entered another Pandora's box--this one has a thousand
> treatments and no cures.
>
> Has anybody done a thorough dry eye workup on you, including rose
> bengal/lissamine green staining, tear meniscus height, meibomian gland
> function, tear breakup time, interferometry, etc.?

The ophthalmologist I went to recently for this problem ran some substance
into the duct transferring tears from inside of the eyelid to the throat. I
should have tasted something if that flow went through. There was the barest
indication of a taste. He concluded that the duct was blocked. He sent me to
a specialist.

> If not, then you should probably seek out an OD or MD who specializes
> in dry eye to find out what /kind/ of dry eye you have, and why.

The specialist was, among other things, a cosmetic surgeon. One of his
specialties is to insert an artificial duct. He used an orange dye. He
flushed the duct. He concluded the the duct was not blocked. The best he
could offer me was a form of lubricant.

> Example: there's aqueous deficient and there's evaporative. Some
> people have both. There are inflammatory conditions.
>
> Different treatments have greater likelihood than others depending on
> what type of dry eye you have. You could be helped by NSAIDs, steroid
> drops, ocular antihistamines, doxycycline, or other options.

I take NSAIDs for other reasons. Although I did use some steroids in the eye
short term after cataract surgery, it tends to increase IOP.

> Meanwhile, there are some zero-risk possibles that you can try.
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> by excessive use of eye drops--you "short-circuit" the neural feedback
> loop and decrease the tear production over time)

So far, I have used Refresh (carboxymethylcellulose) and Systane free
(glycols). I am not sure, but the Systane may be more effective.

> - check ANY eyedrops you're using. If you're using ANYTHING preserved
> with Benzalkonium Chloride ("BAK"), find an alternative that's not
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Best of luck. Dry eye isn't fun.

-- Fermez le Bush--about two years to go.

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