red eye

[penguin]

Hi,

        I am 2 yrs post-op ( 6cm total-removal ), due to the size of the tumor, I had facial paralysis, even though I had another surgery which successfully reconnect part of the nerve ( which means I can move my face  , close my eye , etc but it feels nothing  ). Everything went great after the surgery, except my eye give me a lot of grieve. Every few weeks it turns red for few days , no matter what I do , can not fix it. Then it goes away by itself.  I am using the Tear Naturale PM ointment and Genteal Gel every two hours to make sure the eye does not dry out ( just to follow the instruction of my eye doc. ). I am almost certain the redness is not caused by dryness. I saw a couple of eye doctors , none of them have good solutions. Any suggestions ? Many thanks.

[RadiantStar]

Have you tried any other brand of eyedrops?  I used GenTeal up until about 2 weeks ago, and found that sometimes for no apparent reason, this brand would make my eye red and irritated.  I switched to Refresh Plus made by Allergan.  These work better for me and they come in single-use containers.  I also went from using the "moderate" (thicker) drops to "mild to moderate" formula, otherwise my eye always seemed to be "sticking" at the right corner or left corner.  It felt as though I had a piece of dirt in my eye (but didn't).  Anyway, hope this helps a bit. 

I use the Muro 128.5 lubricant at night, it's not as messy as the P.M. Refresh was for me.  It soothes it too.

2 years post-op and dealing with dry eye is a pain, I'm sure you've experimented with lots of brands.  I just thought I'd pass this on. 

My eye doc gave me a sample of Systane lubricant drops this week, it's different from the original formula, you also might like to give this a try as it's new on the market.

Have a great day, hope you have  good luck with your eye.

[Joef]

are you tearing and blinking on your own? .. I found that I can keep up on the drops without issue but since I'm
not blinking right .. the smallest dust in my eye I can't clear it ... I do find a hair once in a while in my eye after its
been red for a while, and after a take it out .. its like a took a brick out of my eye! all the pain and redness is gone!!

I've very carefull now when I shave... and its been a big help .. I have less problems .. when I do get red eye, and I cant
find anything in my eye .. the thicker drops help .. Larci-lube works great...

[sunshine16]

Hi Penguin,

I had the redness in my eye twice.  I just woke up w/ it,one day.  In my case I had an eyelash stucked inside my eye and it got irritated.   

Anyways, I use Systane drops.  It's pretty good except my eye still feels dry so I put a little bit of Refresh PM (more like a cream)  eyesight gets a little blurry for a little while but it helps keep my eye moisturize for hours..... 

Oh, also,  steam in the bathroom helps a lot......... 

[Boppie]

If you've been checked for infection, maybe you could consider this.  Are you poking your knuckle or fingers at your eye once in a while? 

I was using my clean fingers to smooth my eyelid, wipe extra goo out and close it down.  Well, the eye doctor found hairs (tiney corner eyelashes) had worked their way into my eyelid and were causing the whole eye to burn and turn red.  Sometimes these eyelid lashes grow inward, too.  She plucked these out and, voila, eye redness and irritation fixed.  At the same visit the doc taught me some eye/nose scrunch exercises to get it to flush tears.  This was during the same time that dry eye was perstering me anyway.  So the extra visit to the eye doc was a serendipidous event.  She did add that I should have heeded grandma's warning to "Never put anything in your eye smaller than your elbow"!  ;D  They didn't have good eyedrops.   

Tip: place very warm wet cloths on your face in the morning.  This cleanses the eye lube and gets the muscles relaxed.

[Jeanlea]

I've also had problems with red eye.  I can't blink or make tears.  But it never hurts since I don't have any feeling either.  Some of my red eye problems were caused from various drops that I've tried.  I'm currently using Refresh liquigel.  It doesn't cause redness.  Another time my eye turned red was because I scratched it and it got infected.  The eye doctor told me to always make sure my eye was closed and wipe down from top to bottom.  Another reason that my eye turns red is from shampoo.  I now wear goggles when I shower which is fairly effective at keeping out the shampoo. 

Jean

[luv2teachsped]

Hi!  Along with the eye pain, I also get "red eye".  I was also using the genteal gel and found that it irritated more than helped.I switched to refresh liquidgel and the refresh p.m. lube at night.  Try using different drops.Like Boppie, I have found warm cloths in the morning really help.My eye doctor also noted the last time I was in for a staph infection that my good eye isn't producing many tears either and suggested drops in it too.  This has helped!  godd luck! luv2teachsped

[Karen]

How many of you   ou there have no feeling in their eye?  I have a gold weight and right now I can close my eye good.  Too good, It wants to stay shut most of the time.  I am thinking of having a lighter weight put in.  I don't have any tears either. What eye ointments work for everybody?  I use Refreash PM all the time but am trying to wean off to something else in the daytime so I don't have a greasy looking eye.  Any ideas?  My surgery was Dec. 2003.  Karen

[Raydean]

If  you're seeing a eye doctor hit him or her up for samples.  There are quite a few over the counter eye drops,  don't make the mistake that we did and buy the kind "that get's the red out"  these will actually make it worse.  You neeb a lubricant/artficial tear.    Myself, (I have dry eye non AN related)  I like "Systane" lubricant eye drops, developed for Dry Eye Therapy.  I'm sure others will share what works best for them.  But because these things are pricey, do hit your doctor up for samples so you can purchase the product that works best for you.

Best to all
Raydean

[Jeanlea]

Hi Karen,

I also have no feeling in my eye.  Can't blink it or make tears either.  I do have a gold weight and can get complete closure with that.  I put in a cream at night, close it, and go to sleep.  No more covering and taping.  During the day I use Refresh liquigel.  I was putting it in every hour,but now I am stretching it out to every 3 hours.  It's still a bit blurry, but seems to be getting better.  Sometimes I can even see almost clearly.

Jean

[penguin]

Hi, All,
Thank you very much for sharing. My red eye  probably have something to do with my facial nerve reconnection surgery (don't know the medical term). The surgeon told me the facial nerve will take years to regenerate, I can not tear or blink at this time (may never be ). however I can smile (not naturally of course). Everytime , my face feels bad, my eye turns red (probably irrated by the face somehow), when the bad feeling gone, eye went back to normal. I am blaming it all on the surgery (too late for that  ).  Don't know how to deal with it, except pretend it does not exist. Thanks again

[luv2teachsped]

Hi everyone.  Just got back from another eye dr. appt.  The good news is my eyes have not changed, so at least I don't need a new prescription.  But....  He siad the tear quality as well as the quantity was not good.  I didn't know tears could have a "quality".  Said mine were very oily and thick, what I had of them.  He put in a temp. plug, (after he made the tear duct bigger) and gave me a prescription for restasis.  He also gave me a new sample, which may or may not be on the shelves yet.  It's Systane gel.  I've used the refresh liquid gel as well as the genteal gel which burned my eyes.  One thing he did mention, was to flush my eyes out every morning with lots and lots of water.  Not only would it get all the ointment from the night before, but he said it would help keep all that junk from junking up and keep what moisture I had .  I have to go back in another week, but he said  it doesn't look too hopeful since it's been 10 mo. since surgery.  Any one else get new tears after so long???   Fortunately he said there was no pathalogical damage yet!?Also said my headaches and eye pain are probaly due to no tears in AN side and very few in good eye. Luv2teach

[Karen]

Do you all just try different brands of ointment and gels?  I have been afraid to try different ones other than Refresh PM.  Also do any of you wash out your eye to get the gunk out?  Karen

[Pembo]

I don't wash it out but I do wipe it clean with a towel every morning. I did try a few different kinds of drops/gels in the beginning. I still use lacrilube only. Yes it's thick and my blurs my vision but unless I'm doing close up work I don't notice it. And I only need to use it a few times a day as opposed to every 30-60 mins with the drops.

I had some constant tearing last spring for about a month but it stopped. I only get tears now when I take a very hot bath but even then it isn't everytime.  I'm not giving up hope that one day it will just be better. I hate wearing glasses!

[HeadCase2]

  I find that along with the various drops that others have mentioned, that splashing water on my closed eyes a few times a day really helps.  The eye on the AN side seems to need help flushing out and off dust and dried ointments.  Dried ointment (drops) in the lashes seems to iratate the eye, sometimes to the point of redness.
Regards,
 Rob