Dry, stinging, bloodshot eyes for 2-3 months

I sometimes get a stabing pain in my left eye, the doctor told me this can happen when the eyes are dry.

Which of the eye drops do you find best I have used both of them and like that Clinitas is in singles that can be used for up to 12 hours after opening.

 

I prefer the hyabak as I find the clinitas hard to open and Im worried that id touch the tip of the bottle. My eyeball aches but ive been told its part of the condition.

I find the hylo forte drops to be the best for dryness. I use them at least 4 timed a day and they last 6months when opened. 

Are they the ones that you press the base of? I've tried them but couldn't get used to pressing the base.

Ya they are. I found them hard to get used to them as well , but I'm quite used to them now. 

Ah right I just couldnt get used to it. I've got really bad eye pain. Im worried I didn't clean my hands properly at work.

I sometimes get pain iny eyes but mostly they feel tired like I've cried for a long time. When I have pain the heat pack normally relieves it. But if the pain us severe you should get it checked out in case it's pressure or something!

If its still like this tomorrow then I'll get an optician to check them over. I had some right eye pain yesterday but that wasn't as bad as this in the left eye.

Hi Emz , I think that the pain is the really worrying bit and it's a good and quick thing to have a pressure test carried out .

I've been told its part of the symptoms or it could be that when I clean my hands with hand wash my hands are sticky and it could be that but I can't get the hand wash off. I've been back and forth to opticians. M left eye is now blurry, got something in it earlier. I'm getting fed up of putting eye drops in my eyes. I just can't do it right.

Drops only seem to give about ten mins max relief to me . thought mine had gone but it came back with the new " central heating season ". i've answered a few tonight , hope that everyone can see them.

hi , i've noticed that it's all females out there and that eyelashes are mentioned alot ( cleaning of ). today i got a Bleph' Gel product that's in a pump like dispenser for the cleansing of the lashes . As i wear specs if one doesn't remove every last atom of whatever lubricant that one has used last thing before bed then ones glasses smear up immediately one puts them on. Before i give it a go , what are the names of any of the known " chemicals" that may give me some irritation , please

David

I have  also got the bleph Gel in wait....any one tried it?

Hi Vanessa , i am always cautious about " products " that cleanse and kill bacteria as that of course would include " good bacteria " as well . A necessary evil i suppose . The lashes have to be well cleaned for various reasons of course whether it's last night's lacribube deposits or the Bleph " critters ". I'm currently going for the lashes cleaning with cotton bud sticks moistened with a Bleph' liquid and avoiding the gland openings and hoping that my immune system can be given more of a chance to deal with things . I keeping up with the heat bag and the "expressing " of the old oil from the blocked glands at least twice a day as this seems the most logical of all treatments .

Personally I have trouble with NOT catching the surface of the eyeball with either solution or the tip of the Lube' tube . ( especially the second eye to be treated ). A magnified sided make up mirror needed maybe . Yet to try the new gel cleaner as i want to monitor the better diet and bolster the immune system method for a while .

Hi, can you use maxitrol along with Hyabak?xx

Hi, can you use maxitrol along with Hyabak?xx

Hi David good luck ...I would be lost without my mag ...mirror 

i wish I knew why my eye lids are a bit sticky and hanging on to each other when I blink.

Hi vanessa , touch wood , I'm into a run of good days . After reading of others who are really suffering , I've been paying more attention and time to ensure that I'm really being thorough in the cleansing routine . Two days in a row I haven't had to add drops and two nights in a row I've got by overnight with only Viscotears gel and not the thicker Lacrilube .I've got my magnifying mirror now . I haven't tried the bleph' gel yet as i thought that it wouldn't really be a good test at present . Anytime i have the mearest hint of stickiness of the eyelids i carry out a progessive eyelids massage gradually working in towards the lid edges ( waiting for a replacement eyebag to arrive ) and then immediately using bleph' liquid on a cosmetic tip to clean top and bottom gland surfaces before the eyelids come together again . I'm still taking the cod liver oil ( in milk )

How are things with yours so far this week ?

David

Hi David, was at optician, eyes a little worse. I put this down to my eye bag not working properly as it was falling apart and also was taking antihistamines, stopped them because was making my eyes unbearably dry. Apparently my lower glands are completely blocked, lower lids quite red, he's recommending combination allergy/steroid drops. I think I need to change my diet, reduce stress, body is just inflamed, hate depending on drugs. Very disheartened.

When  I went to the consultant he asked if I took antihistamines ( have done daily for over 12 years ) . Evidently there is a link there with eye dryness . Nobody likes steroids but less face it they are not going to do any harm in the short term and generally speaking they make a big difference to most things , and quickly .A bit like sending in the big guns . It could lead to the beginning of the end of the problem for you . The cleaning of the upper lashes and lids is my problem . Holding back the lashes distorts my vision a bit . Lower eyelids easy .

I think you're on the right track about the diet and stress reduction .

Here's hoping that your drops will be the beginning of a good run of normality .

I have found that for the lower lids , running a cosmetic bud underneath the lashes rather than my finger tip to be a good way of "massaging " or "expressing the oils " .I can always feel some difference afterwards , sometimes just a tad moister or a bit of " gloop " has come forth .

Chin up

Hi David still  sticky,never thought to use blep liquid on my top inner eye rim ( is that what you mean by gland surfaces?) I just don't eye lids lashes and inner rims,thanks I will try it.

Yes vanessa that's where the openings are . I use a cotton bud end per rim . The bottom ones being far easier . If you can then allow a few seconds for any excess to dry before moving on to the upper rim it can cut out any stinging . I do keep the drops handy in case I feel that i may have got some cleaner in my eye . " Borrow " a third party and have a look at their eyelid glands , you can just about pick them out . Tiny dots . there's a pretty good picture on the blephex vid of the openings and the apparent length of them .

Another good day for mine .

Hi Davina , I was wondering if the new medication was having any improvement in your condition ?

Hopefully it is . Early days i suppose

Hi David, seeing my gp tomorrow. My optician has recommended combination anti allergy drops to be followed uo with steroids. He says he notices some plugging of the meibomium glands, mild swelling of the conjunctiva, reduced and uneven tear prism and staining of the cornea with fluorescein. Nothing I'm doing is working from the wipes, the eye bag, nothing. Taking omega 7 capsules too. Utterly miserable, feel like a shadow of the person I was before this...:-( 

Well hang in there because i'm sure that's once you've been taking the steroids for 3 days you'll notice some difference . i can remember years ago when i had a skin allergy that was literally driving me up the wall the 2nd doctor i saw ( the first said it must be shellfish or strawberries .....really , hadn't had any ) put me on steroids for about 5 days and it has made things 99.9% better . i was in a right state then and it just goes to show that if you don't get satisfaction first time around , don't be slow to get a second opinion . you're going to feel that you're on the right track soon enough . Just in time for xmas !

Hi David, not much improvement in my symptoms. GP prescribed me Optilast which is doing nothing. Another appointment this Thursday and think I will be prescribed steroids (which I'm actually happy about). They've always worked for my asthma - I think they will just help my system get rid of the gunk stuck in my eyelids. I had a procedure at my opticians the other day called meibomian gland expression - he managed to unblock almost all of my glands and the relief was immense but it only lasted half and hour... they blocked up again Perhaps my eyelid massage isn't effective enough? Is there another method I should adopt?

Don't like rubbing that area twice daily either as it's so delicate and don't want to bring on premature wrinkles either.... ahhhh

hi Davina , I'd been wondering how things were going for you . that gland expression procedure sounds interesting . Although the effect didn't last long it must give you hope . let's hope the steroids do the job .

Ref' the massage the optician showed me how to do it and to me it felt not very definate and a bit " hit or miss " so i looked for as many web entries that actually showed the glands . Obviously they must be tiny in diameter and I thought " well if you were trying to get the tooth paste in a tube up to the opening you'd start at the bottom and work your way up and not somewhere inbetween " .

I also thought that the finger tip isn't really a " tool" as such . How much pressure , too firm or too carefull .

I came to the opinion that you only need to feel pressure applied by the sensation of the eyeball and not through the finger tip so i looked for an alternative and came up with a pencil eraser on the end of a pencil . when new they still have a distinctive "almost sharp " edge , or unworn , so i use that starting much lower than where i'd assume the glands would begin , move from the nose end out towards the ears if you get me , then move upwards towards the eyeball and make the return path and so on till the last pass is as good as on the eyelid . It feels easier on the undersides of the eye , and i actually feel as though I'm doing something thoroughly .

Obviously I've hot eye bagged before hand and used a cotton tip soaked in bleph cleaner on the lashes followed up by regular optrex on a cotton tip to go over the gland tips ( so i don't touch the eyeball with bleph' cleaner ) . I then go through the gland "tube squeezing " procedure with the end of the pencil , re-bleph clean , re optrex clean but this time with the eye bath .

Ok , I haven't had to suffer like yourself in comparrison but i am now only suffering with a small amount of over- night dryness and having no problems during the day and no problems driving during the darkness hours . weirdly , I wake with them a bit dry , simply wipe the gunge ( can't see it but can sense it's presence ) carefully with a hot flannel and then 9 times out of ten the dryness problems dissappear as I'm up and about and going about a normal day .

If and i say IF , if it comes to it , I'm sure you're aware that the surgeon can " insert " absolutly tiny " liners " or " pipes in your glands to keep them opened . ( a bit like kids and grommits in the ears ? )

Strangely , talking of anti histimines , I hadn't picked up my prescription and i've gone 5 days without taking any ! maybe if i leave off xmas citrus fruits I may be ok ? Who knows . This must be a help with the dryness no doubt .

Try the "pencil + rubber" and see what it does for you . Check out some web based pics of the gland area first . To me it feels as though this procedure would " chase " whatever is in the tubes , glands , towards their openings and out to be rplaced by fresher lubricant .

i'm sure many have been wondering how you've been getting on and will no doubt be very keen to follow your progress .

( sitting here at my computer , eyes feeling almost moist ! )

David

HI David, thanks again for the comprehensive response, you are very kind. Not tried the Optrex cleaner. Do use Bleph cleaner from time to time. My left eye is worst than my right. It gets crusty a bit during the day. Both lower lids look very red too. Should I try the above procedure twice a day? Or just in the evening and just use a hot flannel in the morning? Thank you

hi davina , my inner eyelids were getting a bit sore from constant twice daily cleaning with the bleph' cleaning product so i spent more time and effort on the gland " massage " following the eye bag or simply rubbing my hands together using friction to get them warm and then holding them on my eyes for a minute followed by the " massage " . For me as the morning is the worst period of dryness and there is the sticky mess from the over night Lacrilube to clean away , the hot flannel not only invigorates me but helps to melt the messiness . A bit of soap and carefull pressure around the eyes and usually that clears it away . If not i pour a small amount of the everyday optrex into a spoon dip the cotton bud in it and clean with the eyes open . Any that goes in the eye is of no bother . a cheap way to as a bottle isn't that expensive .

My thought is that it must be important to keep the glands own oils moving so that is where i put the time . surprisingly fast once you get used to it . At work you could always add a couple of sessions of pencil rubber massaging followed by a wipe of some discription to keep things moving and then spend more time and effort at home in the morning and evening .

i still use the bleph cleaner as an insurance policy now and then and follow up with an optrex eye bath to wash any cleaner away and to sooth the eyes.

I'd say keep the oils moving so fresh " stuff" is there for use every time you blink and to stop nasties making a home in the glands .

First thing , get a pencil with a rubber on it's end , slightly chamfer it's new edge , keep it clean and use it to gently squeeze the glands like moving up the last of the lacrilube in a fragile tube . mine always feel a bit " gloopy " some time afterwards but i think " job done " and carefully remove it from the eyelids .

For the first thing in the morning you can't beat the hot flannel for starting the cleaning . Don't even need your eyes open ! works for me ! gets rid of about 90 % of the residue from over night and kick starts the gland oil movement . Must be worth a try .

David

A hot flannel instead of the eyebag in the morn then? Must get a pencil and eraser :-) 

Yes , hot fairly wet flannel and keep that gloop away from your eyebag . i'd only ever use the eyebag if I was sure that there was nothing sticky about that would transfer to it and probably make a home in it ! ( well up till the next time you put it in the microwave !  lol )

Ah! I've been missing a trick, I've not been cleaning my eyes before using my eyebag! Prob reinfecting myself doh...

You'd think that the micro waves would kill any bugs but if you clean before hand and the heat helps the oils to flow , at least with the gland openings clean anything that goes into your eyes can't be that bad .

Your eye bag must have looked a bit , well , yucky , to say the least !

so in the past have you not been cleaning the gland openings ( not that you can actually see them , just know that they'll be where the eyelids come together just in from the eye lashe roots ) ?

Yep I need to get a mag mirror but think I know where they are :-) gonna try your technique and report back, on plus side fiance has bought me a new pair of ray bans :-) lenses are out for me at present 

hi davina , i've found some interesting research published and have started a new discussion . I'm hoping that it will be approved soon as it covers all the different types of infection and some great highly magnified photos , including those of mites in and around the glands .

Interesting was the amount of "passes " suggested that should be used in the " massage " of the eyelid / gland areas .

Hi Davis, You've been so helpful and are very appreciated!  This is the first day I saw the site and already am using the blephasol and am cleansing my eyes. I've had an ongoing case of the blepharitis but the several doctors i saw did not treat it seriously and never said the eyes should be cleansed or to do as much as you and others wrote. thank goodness I've found you as the condition has gotten much worse over the past five months!

I have had itchinching, scratchy eyes (A real worry) redness, swollen eyelids, and evena large area of  puffy skin under my eyes which I have never had. I've also had the black crusty residue which I did not relate to my eye problems.  I read you have a new discussion stated and I'd like to know about it.  I am an RN but not versed in this field and really do need to learn more.  Where do we find the micowavible heating eye pads and the quad meds plus other mentioned?  My doctor gave me Fucidic Acid 1% w/w Viscous Eye Drops AM & PM for the eyes and I will let you know how it works as it is difficult to even keep my eyes open for long due to the stinging and pain.  thanks again to all who post!