Anyone have experience of carbomer gel eyedrops?
Posted , 4 users are following.
I've been using these - suggested by a UK optician - for about a month now, for extreme dryness of my left eye which is causing my sight to deteriorate quite rapidly. I've used two different brands - one British, one Belgian - both with the identical formula.
On the plus side, using the drops last thing at night does reduce the pain, which otherwise wakes me every time I turn on my left side in my sleep.
However, when I wake next morning, the eye is swollen almost shut and very sticky, and this seems to be getting worse. The swelling goes down after about an hour, but I'm beginning to get concerned that I might be damaging the eye even further, and I can't get an appointment with a (hopefully) decent ophthalmologist for another seven weeks.
Does anyone have any experience or advice?
0 likes, 7 replies
mrsmop lily65668
Posted
Have you been back to the optician? He can refer you to the ophthalmologist more quickly if he doesn't know the cause of your problem.
Have you stopped using the drops?
If your optician can't speed up your appt., you could go to eye casualty
lily65668 mrsmop
Posted
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have stopped using the carbomer gel at night for the time being, and have gone back to using the usual Thealoz drops I use during the day. The end of the cold, dry weather is helping things a bit too.
Sorry, I didn't explain my circumstances as most of the "regulars" in here know all about me and I didn't want to bore them!
I live in Belgium, but get a very thorough eye test every year at the same UK optician, who knows me well. (Belgian opticians aren't authorised to do anything other than basic sight tests.)
I saw the optician in early February, and she expressed concern about the state of my left eye, and told me to see an ophthalmologist asap. She's the one who suggested the carbomer gel eyedrops.
I got an appointment on 20 Feb with an ophthalmologist here, but he was unbelievably incompetent, and after just a five-minute consultation told me my sight was 20/20 in both eyes (which it's never been) and there was nothing he could do about the dryness. I've already posted an account of the consultation on these boards.
Ophthalmology is one of the few specialities for which there are long waiting lists here, so I suppose the fact I got an appointment with this guy so quickly should have warned me he was rubbish! I've now got an appointment with a second ophthalmologist - recommended by my GP - but he can only see me on 25 April.
If the problem gets very much worse before then I'll have to go to A&E.
aitarg35939 lily65668
Posted
Lily I hope your eye gets better & that there's a cancellation you can grab soon than late April. With my, ahem, advanced medical degree, it sounds like an allergic reaction to something in the drops. Am hoping the reaction is only in the lid.
lily65668 aitarg35939
Posted
Hi aitarg,
Yes, I was thinking the same thing, which was why I stopped using the stuff. Both the brands I tried contained cetrimide 0.1mg/g, and I'm wondering whether that might have been the culprit. It is known for causing allergy in some individuals, but it was a very common antiseptic used in hospitals in the 60s and 70s, and I constantly had my hands in and out of it in those days with no problems. Still, it could be that the conjunctiva is more sensitive than skin, and maybe even that I sensitised myself to it all those years ago.
I don't think there's much hope of picking up a cancellation. I asked the ophtho's secretary if she could put me on the list in case someone pulled out but she said no, she already had >20 people on it so it was closed. I guess that does at least mean he's a good doctor!
aitarg35939 lily65668
Posted
As I understand allergies, most of them only develop after a prior exposure. We're not always aware of the earlier exposure but in this case, we know that you were in it.
mrsmop lily65668
Posted
One of my GPs told me to always use eye drops that are preservative free because the preservatives often cause more problems. That was over 30 years ago!
I can tell you what I am currently using if that might help you.
Hyabak drops
VitA-POS gel at night [though not at the moment but it might help you]
Ciclosporin drops at night, these were prescribed by my Consultant at Moorfields & because I have to use them last, I can't use the VitA-POS though if my eyes are very dry, I do occasionally use it during the day but it takes a while to clear.
The Hyabak are very expensive but very good.
I hope you get some relief soon Lily. I haven't come across you before so didn't realise you lived in Belgium.
lily65668 mrsmop
Posted
I agree about the preservatives. That's why my UK optician advised me to stop using Tears Naturale and switch to Thealoz Duo a couple of years ago. I'm guessing the problem is that you have to have a preservative (cetrimide in this case) in a thick, gooey gel like carbomer, to avoid the bugs taking up residence in it.
I'm just hoping that now the Beast from the East has subsided, things will ease off. Cold, dry, windy weather is never the best for eye problems. Brussels escaped most of the snow, but we had temperatures much lower than the London area, only 200 miles to the west, probably because the unusual Siberian winds didn't have to blow across a stretch of water to reach us. Let's hope the spring continues!