Reoccurring eye problems (foreign body sensation) Please help! ?!
Question: Reoccurring eye problems (foreign body sensation) Please help! !?
I've been having eye problems for over half a year now!. I have seen several eye doctors, and none of them seem to know specifically what the problem is!. Both eyes (off and on) have the feeling of a foreign body sensation!. Sometimes one eye will be much worse than the other!. One doctor said it was giant papillary conjunctivitis, but I don't wear contacts!. Other doctors said this wasn't the problem!. One doctor simply thought I had some type of dry eye, but a couple other doctors did see bumps or "craters" under my eyelids!. I spend alot of time on the computer, and I'm not sure if that could be part of the problem!. I also have thought at times that my eyelashes were somehow causing the problem, but I don't think that is likely to be the cause!. I've tried several drops such as Zylet, Lotemax, and Alrex!. My eyes eventually start to feel better, but the foreign body sensation comes back after awhile!. I'm not entirely sure how effective these drops have been, and I don't want to overuse them!. I have also tried taking antibiotics to make sure it wasn't some type of infection or anything like that!.
Most days I use regular lubricant eye drops and gels which usually provide some temporary relief!. As a side note, this problem started just a couple of weeks after I moved to Asheville, NC!. I'm not sure if that is part of the cause or not, because the eye problem has gone away at times and come back when I am actually not in North Carolina!. If there are any eye experts out there or anyone who has had a similar experience, your thoughts and suggestions would be much appreciated!. Thank you!Www@Answer-Health@Com
Most days I use regular lubricant eye drops and gels which usually provide some temporary relief!. As a side note, this problem started just a couple of weeks after I moved to Asheville, NC!. I'm not sure if that is part of the cause or not, because the eye problem has gone away at times and come back when I am actually not in North Carolina!. If there are any eye experts out there or anyone who has had a similar experience, your thoughts and suggestions would be much appreciated!. Thank you!Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
Your description of symptoms does sound like allergic conjunctivitis!. Depending how bad it is, we can start with mild steroids (which what the Lotemax and stuff is) to try to bring down the inflammation; those bumps inside your eyelids rub against your corneas every time you blink, which is irritating, needless to say!. In addition to that, we usually use a drop specifically for allergies, like Pataday (one drop once a day); if you don't want to see the doctor again for another prescription, you can get Patanol or Zaditor over the counter!. (It's one or the other that's OTC in the US, I forget exactly; they're both Rx-only here in Canada!.)
That being said, if the Lotemax (or Alrex or whatever) didn't help at all, that's very odd -- it should, at a minimum, bring down the inflammation and reduce the foreign-body sensation!. You're right though, you don't exactly want to be taking steroids forever, which is why we generally start with the steroid plus an allergy drop, then taper off the steroid after a couple weeks!. If you've still got Lotemax/Alrex, I'd use it for a couple weeks in addition to an over-the-counter allergy drop, then continue the allergy drop!. If that doesn't work, I'd go visit the eye doctor and give them the whole story so they don't repeat the same treatments you've already tried!.
Good luck -- I know allergies can be terribly annoying!Www@Answer-Health@Com
That being said, if the Lotemax (or Alrex or whatever) didn't help at all, that's very odd -- it should, at a minimum, bring down the inflammation and reduce the foreign-body sensation!. You're right though, you don't exactly want to be taking steroids forever, which is why we generally start with the steroid plus an allergy drop, then taper off the steroid after a couple weeks!. If you've still got Lotemax/Alrex, I'd use it for a couple weeks in addition to an over-the-counter allergy drop, then continue the allergy drop!. If that doesn't work, I'd go visit the eye doctor and give them the whole story so they don't repeat the same treatments you've already tried!.
Good luck -- I know allergies can be terribly annoying!Www@Answer-Health@Com
It definitely could be related to allergies!. I have the same thing and it is aggravating, isn't it!? It does seem to be worse when the pollen count is high!.Www@Answer-Health@Com