Wellness

[Penellope]

On 11/28/2014 Tissyanne said:

On 11/28/2014 Penellope said:

I've had severe dry eyes for about 7 years, with recurrent corneal erosion. It's very painful. My lips are also extremely sensitive and turn bright red if I don't keep Aquaphor on them. I go nowhere without my Aquaphor and Refresh Liquigel drops. I have used Restasis for a while, along with warm soaks, eyelid wipes, and omega-3's. My Ophthalmologist tried me on doxycycline, based on a possible Rosacea diagnosis, but I was allergic. I have an appointment Monday with a new dermatologist. I can't wait. It's maddening.

Penellope, I have had corneal erosions too. There are many nerve endings on the cornea, and I was told this is one of the most painful conditions there is. You can try an over the counter ointment for night time use called Muro 128. It is specific to help prevent the erosions. It burns, but is worth it to me. Muro 128 also comes in drop form for daytime. Muro is a salt solution, and that is why it burns.

Thank you Tissyanne. Yes I forgot to mention I use an ointment also at night. It's not Muro, I will look into that one. This takes a lot of maintenance, even on a day when my eyes feel ok. If I don't keep on top of it, the next day will be bad. My coworker has Sjogren's and I'm in worse shape than she is. It makes me feel a little better to know there are others with a similar problem. Thanks for starting this thread.

[AngelPuppy1]

I feel for you! It is very upsetting. I work on computers all day every day and it is a challenge. I have a lot of eye issues myself. I have also blepharitis. And yes, they recommend very warm, wet compresses to the eyes - 10 minutes at a time - 2 times a day. And either using a wash of Johnson's baby shampoo or to use the eye cleaning or scrubs that you can buy. Also, using a good eye drop such as Refresh Optive 2 or 3 times is very helpful. My eye doctor also said that fish oil is beneficial and take a good eye-cap, too. I do all of these and still at times my eyes will feel irritated, and gritty.

[Tissyanne]

Thanks again to all of you for your replies. I agree, it is maddening. I sure hope to find some answers, and please post back if you find any relief.

[glmama]

I would second the suggestion that this may be related to your Rosacea. I've heard and read that Rosacea can affect the eyes. I would find a good derm and try to work with them to figure it out, maybe even in conjunction with your eye doc.

[kittymomNC]

Just saw this thread and thought I would add my experience. This is a little long, but sometimes the more you hear about something you suspect, then more symptoms seem to fall into place. I was diagnosed with rosacea more than 15 years ago. I was having severe problems with my eyes burning and tearing... I had a roofing man at my house one morning and finally had to tell him to come back. I couldn't even open my eyes they were burning and tearing so much.

I went to the eye doctor who told me to see a dermatologist, and to use regular eye drops until I could get a definite diagnosis. I had been having some redness on my face but hadn't thought too much about it. It started getting worse, and when I got in to my dermatologist, she said it was definitely rosacea and it could do that to my eyes. She put me on an antibiotic for a month, and everything cleared up considerably. I've been using either Azelex or Finacea on my face ever since, but my case must not be that bad because I don't have to use it all the time.

I also use artificial tears every morning and every night, and was using either Olay Foaming Cleanser for Sensitive Skin or Cetaphil, but I've changed to Philosophy's Purity cleanser and/or Garnier "The Radiance Renewer Cleansing Gelee". I have a problem with tiny pores around my mouth and on my chin getting clogged, and these do seem to help. Rosacea can make your face break out, even if you've never had a problem with that before, make your pores larger, and you can have a tendency, like me, to get the clogged pores no matter what I do.

I had a flare up about a week ago with my eyes bothering me a lot more than usual. At first I thought it was some kind of eye problem, but then I realized my face was acting up with the redness and heat again, so went back to using the Finacea. My eyes are fine now, but I still use the artificial tears, and my face is back to "normal", whatever that is! If I get in the sun when working in the yard, or get too hot, or even when I get stressed talking on the phone, my face gets very red and hot. My elderly neighbor used to see me out in my yard and tell me to go inside because my face was too red!

So I guess my suggestion would be the same as others here, definitely see your dermatologist and eye doctor. I consider myself lucky that my case is not that bad, but it does get to be a pain in the neck sometimes! I hardly ever had even a bump on my face when I was young or in my whole life until I got this! So I hope you'll be lucky and have a mild case if that's what your diagnosis turns out to be. It's very treatable, but can get much worse if neglected. Good luck to you!

[Tissyanne]

kittymomNC, thank you for your response. I did see my eye doctor yesterday. She did not address my skin concerns directly, but did tell me to see a dermatologist. She looked at my eyes with dye in them, and told me the left one looked very congested. She asked me questions concerning sinus related problems, and concluded I need to use cool compresses, take a decongestant, and as a last result to use Lotemax. She cautioned me about the Lotemax, because it is a steroid, and can raise eye pressure. She said the Restasis I use for my dry eyes would be the ocular rosacea treatment anyway. I am glad that I went. I do plan to see my dermatologist about my skin flare ups. It seems that heat and particularly stress brings it out.

[wonderfulworld]

This is slightly O/T as I do not have ocular rosacea but had severe with redness and burning on my cheeks from facial rosacea. Even my neck and ears would get red and sometimes hot. I am sure my eyes would have been involved eventually. I tried the topicals with little success. I had laser treatments which broke up the redness tremendously. I cannot begin to describe how much this helped to eliminate my rosacea. I use no topicals now at all and only my nose gets red a bit now if cold or I drink alcohol or eat something spicy. I am going to get a touch up laser treatment next year.

I think getting your skin under control will help your eyes too as many have stated here.

[Tissyanne]

On 12/2/2014 wonderfulworld said:

This is slightly O/T as I do not have ocular rosacea but had severe with redness and burning on my cheeks from facial rosacea. Even my neck and ears would get red and sometimes hot. I am sure my eyes would have been involved eventually. I tried the topicals with little success. I had laser treatments which broke up the redness tremendously. I cannot begin to describe how much this helped to eliminate my rosacea. I use no topicals now at all and only my nose gets red a bit now if cold or I drink alcohol or eat something spicy. I am going to get a touch up laser treatment next year.

I think getting your skin under control will help your eyes too as many have stated here.

Thanks for sharing your experience. My face is red and hot today , and there is no reason for it to be that way. Off to the dermatologist next.

[wonderfulworld]

On 12/2/2014 Tissyanne said:

On 12/2/2014 wonderfulworld said:

This is slightly O/T as I do not have ocular rosacea but had severe with redness and burning on my cheeks from facial rosacea. Even my neck and ears would get red and sometimes hot. I am sure my eyes would have been involved eventually. I tried the topicals with little success. I had laser treatments which broke up the redness tremendously. I cannot begin to describe how much this helped to eliminate my rosacea. I use no topicals now at all and only my nose gets red a bit now if cold or I drink alcohol or eat something spicy. I am going to get a touch up laser treatment next year.

I think getting your skin under control will help your eyes too as many have stated here.

Thanks for sharing your experience. My face is red and hot today , and there is no reason for it to be that way. Off to the dermatologist next.

I found that too. Even with out triggers, stress, alcohol etc I was red. I think it is just the nature of the condition for some of us. I am very fair skinned too so the redness was very apparent. I never did get the bumps though. Keep us posted...good luck

[poppinfresh]

I have rosacea of the face and the eyes. My eye doctor told me to wash my eyes with baby shampoo every night and prescribed anti biotics for my eyes. I rub a tiny bit on my eye lashes with my eyes closed every night, and it has helped alot.