I constantly have dry, gritty, light sensitive eyes and over the summer had blood shot, sore, gunky eyes week after week however when I started on Hydroxychloroquine in August these episodes didn’t seem to be as bad. Unti Monday when my eye flared up like this and has been getting worse tues and weds. It’s senstive to touch the eyelid and the surrounding area and the eye itself is stinging/burning, uncomfortable and VERY dry. I started on some non preservative eye drops a week ago and they seem to be making my eye worse and worse so have been told to stop by my optometrist. Does anyone else have frequent eye issues like his and how do you relieve the pain/dryness?
Thankyou!
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Warrior15
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Hi Warrior15, I've had recent patches where my eyes have been very red and feel very dry and scratchy and thought it was a flare but have realised that it is due to prolonged use of staring at a laptop and phone which is causing my eyes to strain (I think). Possibly time for glasses, sadly. A few things I would check though are allergies to pollen/grasses, maybe try some allergy drops or antihistamines. I also tried using a conjunctivitis type drop for a while to ensure it wasn't that you can buy these over the counter but be careful as the one I used contained sulphur so you need to make sure that is okay for you. I also use Hylo-Forte lubricating drops for my dry eyes 2mg/ml (find the 1mg/ml not as good) . Gets me through 4 hours of sleep at a time so has really worked well for me. Have tried everything else eye gels, drops etc but this is the best one for me at least. I hope it comes right for you soon as not pleasant at all.
Thankyou so much for getting back to me, I am short sighted so wear glasses daily. My optometrist tried me with allergy drops over the summer (before I was diagnosed with sjrogrens) and they made my eyes worse unfortunately. Thankyou for the recommendation with the drops, I will try these ones next.
I may even pop over to the docs this morning as my eye has become more painful and eyelid swollen over night.
Hi Warrior15. My eyes were like that also. I use preservative free eye drops during the day. Sometimes have to apply them hourly. At night I use Vita pos A which is a thick ointment similar to Vaseline. My eyes are photosensitive to bright light also and I bought online a pair of moisture retaining glasses called 7eye By Pantoptx which are excellent for protecting your eyes outside from bright light. Wind. Particles in air etc. Good luck. It’s a bit of trial and error until you find the right things that suit you. Take care
Hi Warrior , my eyes have been more dry lately so i have started massaging them again after putting on a warm cloth, it helps to stimulate the glands . You can get a heat pack for the microwave and a eye massager if you find this helps.
Thanks so much for replying! Yes I have a heat pack which I use morning and evening but unfortunately this hasn’t helped the sjrogrens. It’s a mix of finding things that work isn’t it!
I also use a warm facecloth each morning to massage my eyes. It is also for cleaning my eyes as I use an eye ointment every night.
All day I use Bion tears every 2 or 3hrs or a gel drop when eyes are particularly gritty. I cannot cope with glare so use lamps instead of top lighting and fluro lights can be a real problem. This is how I control it and there is no being slack! In the early days about 25yrs ago I had not learned
much and I had eye ulcers and much pain. Diligence is the only solution. It is so good to be in touch with others.... 😊
Hi Warrior 15... I have severe Sjogren's and don't usually get that bad. I think you need to get to a doc if it is getting worse before there is too much damage done. Computer or phone or TV overuse can certainly do it if you are not careful. Additionally, my eye doctor told me about a procedure where you put drops in your eyes, then hold your fingers to your tear ducts for 90 seconds to force the drops to treat your eyes instead of just running away. That has done a lot for me... Good luck getting it straight. That looks really painful..
Thankyou CaeryIUSA, I went to the doctors first things and he believes I have an infection but isn’t 100%. I have ointment now which I’m hoping works. It’s made me feel generally unwell in general. He said it’s not a sjrogrens flare as it’s just like this in the one eye? I have severe dryness in both eyes but my left one (the one in the picture) is always the worst when looked at by the optometrist and is always the one that gets swollen/infected. Was the gp wrong in saying it’s not the sjrogrens because it was just in the one eye? I have slight redness in my right one too but nothing like the left.
Hi there....in my early days my left eye seemed to be more the worrying one and it was the one that got ulcers which were so painful. With my diligent maintenance there haven't been eye ulcers for years. (25yrs I've had this problem)Once your current problem is solved a diligent control will hopefully help. Let us all know. We all care.
Hi Warrior 15 - Well, I think the Sjogren's is generally bilateral so that is probably why he thinks that. Did he give you antibiotic drops? I hope they work soon as that looks really painful...
Hello. ...i dont normally write a lot of posts on here, but oh my goodness i want to try and help relieve your pain as i used to have all the symptons you have had and day after day, it was awful...i used to cry in pain with my eyes, i couldnt stand anything at all...the sun,wind, air conditioning etc and used to sleep loads...until i finally got referred to the Opthamology department in my local hospital where she put me on "HI-LO FORTE" drops and ive never looked back since....the most brilliant discovery for me! I use about 10 to 15 drops a day in both eyes and keep them with me in my bag....they have cured my eye pain, they are amazing! I hope you can get hold of this product where you are? Be patient they will take a while to kick in.
I also use a gel every night for bed time and clean my eyes daily with a dilute solution of boiled water and bicarbonate soda......i really hope this helps you some😊
That’s exactly how they feel!!! I’ve given it a google and the only ones I can find that I’m able to get hold off are ‘hy-lo forte’ ones off amazon. Are these the same?
Hi warrior15, are you in Oz? I have tried hundreds of drops. I too have Sjogrens with severe dry eyes, the right one is always the worst. Yes, they are both different! The only drop with any effect is HyloForte. I get mine from Chemist Warehouse, keep it in the fridge as the coldness is very soothing. Good luck !
Sorry yes my mistake..hy-lo forte i spelt it wrong...i get them on a script from my doctor...can you not try this way, ir is Amazon a cheaper way for you?
Hi I have Xailin night ointment on prescription which I use during the day when my eyes are really sore and it works really well. I also wear sun glasses when I’m outside even in the winter to protect my eyes from the wind and to ease the light sensitivity. Hope you feel better soon 💐
Hi again, just to let you know...hylo-forte has different strengths. The opthamologist/doctor can prescribe the 1mg one but not 2mg in NZ. Not sure where you are but I didn't find the 1mg one as effective as the 2mg which you can buy over the counter. Chemist Warehouse is the cheapest place to buy. Heres a link to the brand for you aftpharm.com/products/non-p...
Hi just have a look at my recent post to Barn Cloud. I know what you are going through from first hand experience. Have a good look at your gut health very interesting article on Optical Rosacea and the antibiotic Rifraxamin. I was incorrectly diagnosed with Sjogrens Syndrome when in fact I have another autoimmune disease Optical Rosacea.
Scleral lenses changed my life! They are custom made hard contact lenses that cover a large part of your entire eye. You fill them up full of saline and they sit on top of your eyes bathing them in moisture all day long and protecting them from micro tears when you blink.
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