Is conjunctivitis a sign of Parkinson's?

[kaypeeoh]

One eye is glued shut each morning. I need to splash hot water in my eyes to flush the mucous out. Is eye inflammation a Parkinson's symptom?

[WinnieThePoo]

Not sure I've seen conjunctivitis listed as a parkinson's symptom but I have to care for my eyes following a badminton injury.Have you tried occusoft? The regular dark blue foam

ocusoft.com/ocusoft-lid-scr...

[Juliegrace]

PWP blink far less than non-PWP or when they didn’t have PD so dry eyes are quite common. Talk to your eye doctor/optometrist about ways to mitigate dry eyes. They will usually recommend drops (which I find impossible) or warm water compresses and blinking hard/squeezing your eyes twenty times to generate moisture.

[sharoncrayn in reply to Juliegrace]

Dry eyes are not a symptom of PD.

Sharon

[Juliegrace in reply to sharoncrayn]

Reduced blinking, which often results in dry eyes, is. Officially, “decreased blink rate.”

[chartist in reply to Juliegrace]

Julie,

I wrote about this topic here :

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Dry eyes seem common in PD, but apparently not often reported.

Art

[pdpatient in reply to chartist]

@chartist, you are spot on. It is under-represented / under-reported because most PwP's have no reason to go to an eye specialist.

Unfortunately, as a diabetic, I have twice yearly eye exams and I use lubricant eye drops under the advice of my retina specialist.

RKM

[chartist in reply to pdpatient]

The Maqui Berry extract capsules may offer a bit more convenience for some as it only requires one dose per day in place of drops multiple times per day.

Art

[sharoncrayn in reply to Juliegrace]

Is decreased or abnormal blinking unique to PD? I think not.

an association or hypothesis of a condition is not necessarily a PD marker. “decreased blink rate" may reflect striatal and mesolimbic dopaminergic activity, but may not. It may be a PD marker but may not.

"Parkinson's disease is associated with reduced dopaminergic functions and decreased blink rate".......(yes, a possible association by hypothesis but not a unique, specific marker for PD)

The significance of eye blink rate in parkinsonism: a hypothesis (1990).Sandyk.

A Commonly assumed fact by many PD organizations but no studies to support the assertion.

sharon

[Juliegrace in reply to sharoncrayn]

Nowhere did I say it’s unique to PD, just as I did not say dry eyes are a symptom. You incorrectly infer things once again. I will take the information given to me by the several neurologists I’ve seen, including those involved in research for PD bio markers (PPMI) of which I am a participant, over your desperate need to be right.

[pdpatient in reply to sharoncrayn]

@sharoncrayn, unfortunately it is as others have been so kind as to point out here in this thread and forum. My retina specialist / ophthalmologist specifically told me to get lubricant eye drops and even pointed out the brand at Costco which is economical and works over the long haul.

My MDS concurs. An ophthalmologist and an MDS cannot both be wrong. So, @juliegrace and @chartist are right.

RKM

[sharoncrayn in reply to pdpatient]

What exactly did they point out? I thought we were discussing whether or not abnormal "blinking" is a biomarker for PD? Am I missing something? Are you referring to something else?

sharon

[ladya2020 in reply to Juliegrace]

My eyes are red and watery looking. My optometrist said that was "dry eye" and recommended drops which did nothing. Does anyone else have red watery looking eyes?

[pdpatient in reply to ladya2020]

@ladya2020, I suggest that you please see an ophthalmologist, aka a real doctor 😂

[LAJ12345]

My hubby has had to have a procedure to unblock a tear duct which gave him an eye infection. I think it is linked to abnormalities in the flow of liquids in head and in the glymphatic system. Sinuses, tears, saliva, lymph flow etc are all affected is my opinion.

Some medications are also drying.

[sharoncrayn]

NO, it is not a sign or symptom of PD. All types of people are found to have positive conjunctival cultures...Kusbeci (2008) answered this question...

LB dementia is a sign of PD (postmortem) as are tremors (50% of PwP), dyskinesia, asymmetric bradykinesia, significant loss of neurons in your anterior putamen SBR (DatSpect scan or PET scan..)

The Brits use the QSBB criteria which is reasonably accurate (about75%-90%) as for example in defining Stage 1. (PD STAGE 1 = tremor at 4-6 Hz, rigidity, and progressive loss of the speed and amplitude of repetitive movements and possibly arrests in movements and ‘re-setting’). We might also "possibly" include anosmia, prodromal constipation and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorders.

Don't forget that age related Comorbidities are more TYPICAL THAN ATYPICAL with PD.

Sharon

[Kwinholt in reply to sharoncrayn]

Sharon, While I appreciate your knowledge and research on PD, correct me if I’m wrong , you don’t have PD right? We with PD have a lot of different issues. Currently, I have one section of my hair on my head frizzed and broke off and I know it’s from my PD. That may not be documented somewhere “as a symptom “ , but I now that’s what caused it. Until you actually have PD in “your” body don’t discount what we are saying about our unusual issues just because it’s not documented somewhere. Take care. Karen

[sharoncrayn in reply to Kwinholt]

Karen,

you could be correct, but I was commenting about "generic" conditions/markers/precursors attributable to the population as a whole. Individually anything is possible.

[Kwinholt in reply to sharoncrayn]

Sharon, Thank you for responding and clarifying. I know you are trying to inform us but when your living with this “bitch” of a disease in your body , sometimes we get defensive. If your a mom, Happy Mother’s Day. Karen

[MyGolf]

NO

[kaypeeoh]

Thanks for all the comments. An optometrist prescribed Restasis eye drops. It seems to be working.

kpo

[Dragona]

My husbands eyes are running all day long

[kaypeeoh in reply to Dragona]

MS and PD are similar conditions. I was diagnosed with MS long before the PD diagnosis. One of the common signs in MS is diplopia; double vision in one eye. I was treated with IV steroids which cleared up the eye problem.

[GymBag]

The eyes are effected by Parkinson's. The muscles that focus and blink are like every other muscle trying to communicate with the brain . People with PD will often find that they have double vision. When they look at the night sky there will be two or three stars where there is only one. My left eye is different than my right, and as soon as I said to my eye doctor that I have PD she started using prisms. Use all the reference books on Parkinson's with caution. Most seem to be written in 1952. or copied from the old 52 texts . Other symptoms that do not exist in PD according to the texts are internal tremors and pain. No sense arguing with people that insist that the symptoms do not come with PD. We have PD and we know.If your Neurologist is one of these people , you have some reason for concerned thought, not good.

If the Neuro also concentrates solely on Motor Symptoms and non motor symptoms are never discussed , hit the road. His library of medical books was probably passed down from his grandfather.

[MULTIVITZ]

Ok guys enough of clutching at straws. Eyes are complicated things, their symptoms aren’t always nutrient or infection related! Red eye, glue eye, black eye, pop eye, we manage don’t we, but a long term eye problem or one that goes to the other eye, not nice.

Biotin is one of the few Sulphur containing B vitamins, a little is in fresh foods.

The eyes are a detox organ to. My body decided to dump Nickel last year, and my eyes helped elimination.

After a persistent bout of Red eye, dispite correct supplementation good diet, i had the needles sticking into the eye sensation(like a swollen stye but much worse) There was no damage to my inner eye lids dispite the painful prick sensation in both upper and lower lids. Reminded me of arc eye.

My eye lid lymph’s had swollen and I felt angry like a fire in my belly. It was the Nickel. I looked at some symptom lists for it.

Biotin, it turns out uses Nickel as a Cofactor. An hour after sucking a 10k unit tablet of Biotin my symptoms went, I took some the next day and still do now and then. The days after this my eye produced some glue but it wasn’t the sticky stuff and it wasn’t the rock hard stuff that goes like grit, just swollen lips(I had minimal eye swelling until after the needles!) full of chime. For a few days this painless offwhite watery gunge would be gently massaged out. I have no problems since, but I have reduced my grey hair. Hope this helps, nothing happens without Boron. M

[kaypeeoh]

I'd forgotten writing this post 10 months ago. I asked whether conjunctivitis is a sign of PD. Responses ranged from emphatically "NO" to equally emphatic "YES" And several "Maybe" which might be the most accurate response.

Counterintuitively it seems that Dry Eye Syndrome often causes runny eyes. And there is a good reason for that. Meibomian Glands line the eyelids. These glands secrete oils. The oil covers the watery tears, Without that layer the watery secretions evaporate. If a meibomian gland is plugged it results in a sty.

I've had dry eye for 10 years. I was diagnosed with PD three years ago. Maybe it was prodromal for PD or maybe it was coincidental. I've noticed that Rytary make the vision problems worse. I see the neuro next week for botox injections in my tremoring arm. I'll ask (again!) whether there's any need for RYTARY.

[kaypeeoh in reply to kaypeeoh]

I have PD localized to my left side. Both eyes have conjunctivitis but the left eye is much worse. When I wake up I spend an hour carefully removing small hard pieces of grit from my left eye.

[Gymsack]

It does not matter if PD is involved or not

just treat the eyes , age causes dry eyes.

Get eye drops from an eye doctor , expensive but they work.

Might as well get checked for Glaucoma while your there.

[kaypeeoh in reply to Gymsack]

Thanks for the note, Gymsack. As a life-long hypochondriac, I see doctors every four months, including an ophthalmologist who says my pressures are normal. I use Restasis eyedrops and fish oil capsules for my eyes. I take Rytary and develop double vision if I forget to take the afternoon/evening doses. The double vision is my only sign that I have PD.